529 Plan Advice

[twocoach]

With my oldest finishing up high school,we are going to need to withdraw some money from her 529 plan to start putting it towards her college expenses.

Anyone here gone through this yet and have any advice about what you learned, mistakes you made or opportunities you wish you would have taken advantage of earlier?

[Deleted User 865]

Tell the child to get FAFSA and take the 529 money to take a baller vacation to Cabo.

[zsn]

If you do take a distribution try to see if you can get a check in her name or deposit directly into her account. Also save every statement from the college in case they don’t send you the 1098-T form.

I got a very friendly letter from the Federales the first tax year after my daughter started college and we took the distribution. They even told us what to write in the letter in response and then a few weeks later sent a letter letting us know that the “matter has been satisfactorily resolved”. However, I could have avoided a few out-of-body moments while I opened the mail from The Man.

[twocoach]

Tell the child to get FAFSA and take the 529 money to take a baller vacation to Cabo.

Anything Kid #1 doesn't use on her undergrad will be left in there for Kid #2 to use in ten years.

[jhawks99]

I've done my last FAFSA, youngest kid graduates from UK next weekend.

[twocoach]

I've done my last FAFSA, youngest kid graduates from UK next weekend.

We have agreed to provide funding for her undergrad. She's on her own for any post grad program. So I assume that she'll be headed that way in 4 years if she gets into a PA program.

[jhawks99]

Congrats twocoach. Hope she does well.

[Deleted User 865]

Tell the child to get FAFSA and take the 529 money to take a baller vacation to Cabo.

Anything Kid #1 doesn't use on her undergrad will be left in there for Kid #2 to use in ten years.

My instructions were pretty clear and you still aren’t following. It’s not that hard. Tequila shots for dayz.

[jfish26]

I've done my last FAFSA, youngest kid graduates from UK next weekend.

We have agreed to provide funding for her undergrad. She's on her own for any post grad program. So I assume that she'll be headed that way in 4 years if she gets into a PA program.

I think our plan is to say that, circumstances permitting, we will commit to the fully-baked cost of the state school in which we live. Anything more expensive that that is on the kid. Anything less expensive than that becomes available for grad school or moving expenses for a job or whatever.

[twocoach]

I've done my last FAFSA, youngest kid graduates from UK next weekend.

We have agreed to provide funding for her undergrad. She's on her own for any post grad program. So I assume that she'll be headed that way in 4 years if she gets into a PA program.

I think our plan is to say that, circumstances permitting, we will commit to the fully-baked cost of the state school in which we live. Anything more expensive that that is on the kid. Anything less expensive than that becomes available for grad school or moving expenses for a job or whatever.

My daughter's ACT score was high enough that she could have attended Nebraska tuition free but I blocked that from being an option. Too many high school classmates going there. She needs to learn to meet new people and get out of her comfort zone and it didn't feel like a fifth year with her high school friends would fully allow that. She's getting enough scholarships to KU that her tuition is down to the same as if she was in-state so she'll have plenty to cover her undergrad.

[Deleted User 89]

tbh, i rarely hung out with my HS classmates as a frosh at KU, even though i went to HS in Lawrence

[NewtonHawk11]

We have agreed to provide funding for her undergrad. She's on her own for any post grad program. So I assume that she'll be headed that way in 4 years if she gets into a PA program.

I think our plan is to say that, circumstances permitting, we will commit to the fully-baked cost of the state school in which we live. Anything more expensive that that is on the kid. Anything less expensive than that becomes available for grad school or moving expenses for a job or whatever.

My daughter's ACT score was high enough that she could have attended Nebraska tuition free but I blocked that from being an option. Too many high school classmates going there. She needs to learn to meet new people and get out of her comfort zone and it didn't feel like a fifth year with her high school friends would fully allow that. She's getting enough scholarships to KU that her tuition is down to the same as if she was in-state so she'll have plenty to cover her undergrad.

Interesting strategy. I mean. I get it, just interesting.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Make sure she joins this group at KU, plenty of posters here have good things to say.

https://tinyurl.com/2euakafd

[twocoach]

Make sure she joins this group at KU, plenty of posters here have good things to say.

https://tinyurl.com/2euakafd

I'll give that to her as the acceptable pool of potential boyfriends.

[DrPepper]

Proposed Bill to allows transfer of College 529 Savings to Retirement Funds
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktak ... 4MMXJLcvfk

Bill to Allow Transfer of College Savings to Retirement Funds
By Meghan Brink
June 15, 2022

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate Tuesday would allow families to transfer unused funding from college savings accounts, or 529 accounts, without being penalized.

These accounts allow families to save for their children’s educations by investing after-tax income into mutual funds, much like a Roth retirement savings account. Under current law, families whose children decide not to go to college or do not use all of the savings in the account are penalized for withdrawing any unused funds.

“We should encourage parents to save for their family’s future, while recognizing that they can’t always predict what the future holds. Their child might not decide to pursue a higher education,” said a sponsor of the bill, Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The College Savings and Recovery Act, also sponsored by Bob Casey, the Democrat from Pennsylvania, would eliminate these penalties and allow families to transfer funding in 529 accounts to a Roth IRA, where the money can be saved for their child’s retirement.

“An early start on saving for retirement can mean the difference between peace of mind and insecurity for retired Americans,” said Casey about the bill.

The bill was previously included in Burr’s 2017 Boost Savings for College Act.

[jhawks99]

It's a good idea. Hopefully, it passes.