Which 529?

[JohnDoe]

Since I get the state deduction no matter what plan I choose, I'm looking at Utah, MD, & Neb.

Anyone use these?

[REWahoo]

I use Utah for two of my grandkid's 529s. Like the relatively low cost and the fact I can invest in Vanguard funds.

[lswswein]

Utah & Ohio are good for low costs and access to Vanguard funds. West Virginia is good if you think DFA can get you extra performance. Nevada also has Vanguard but higher costs than Utah, but you can see you account consolidated with you Vanguard account

-h

[BigBob]

I am from Ohio and used to invest in the Utah plan until Ohio added Vanguard plans. I was pleased with the Utah plan. I then rolled it from Utah to Ohio without any problems.
A great site for comparing 529s is Savingforcollege.com - The internet guide to funding college and Section 529 college savings plans. and Joe Hurley is an expert in 529s and Coverdells, among other things.

[JohnDoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBob I am from Ohio and used to invest in the Utah plan until Ohio added Vanguard plans. I was pleased with the Utah plan. I then rolled it from Utah to Ohio without any problems. A great site for comparing 529s is Savingforcollege.com - The internet guide to funding college and Section 529 college savings plans. and Joe Hurley is an expert in 529s and Coverdells, among other things.

That's the site I used.

If you go direct, can you see your balance, etc, online? I don't have a Vanguard acct and Fido doesn't really have much to offer for 529's as they only manage 2 plans.

[BigBob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoe If you go direct, can you see your balance, etc, online? I don't have a Vanguard acct and Fido doesn't really have much to offer for 529's as they only manage 2 plans.

I have Vanguard accounts and a 529 with Ohio in VG accounts.
For Ohio plans, you go to "their" site to manage the account, see account balances, etc. I do not see this information when I log into VG; I only see my VG accounts. Now, I believe that from within Vanguard you can add "outside" accounts (which in this case would be "inside", wouldn't it??), and monitor activity and balances. I have "outside" accounts linked to my Fido accounts, so I can easily monitor my asset allocation, etc.

[JohnDoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBob I have "outside" accounts linked to my Fido accounts, so I can easily monitor my asset allocation, etc.

You mean "Full View"?

I was trying not to have to open another account, but it looks like I will have to, if I want a 529.

[BigBob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoe You mean "Full View"? I was trying not to have to open another account, but it looks like I will have to, if I want a 529.

From within Vanguard, they have a section labeled:
Outside Investments — Linked Online Accounts
In there I can link to Fidelity and maybe you can link to your 529 account as well.
I believe you will need to open a separate 529 account. If you already have a 529 elsewhere, you can move it to your newly opened 529 account (I believe at the time I moved mine from Utah to Ohio that it worked similar to a IRA rollover.)

[Spanky]

We have two 529 Vanguard accounts. It is a Nevada plan.

https://personal.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/Funds529ByName

[JohnDoe]

One more question. I am confused on who the owner of my coverdell account is.

...529 plans and Coverdell ESAs may be two of the better options to save for college without jeopardizing financial aid. These are treated as assets of the account owner, not the beneficiary. If a parent owns the 529 account or ESA, up to 5.6% of the value is included in EFC. A 529 account or ESA owned by the student, or by a trust or custodian for the student, will not be counted as the student's asset.

Am I the owner? For financial aid purposes, is this my asset or my childs? Does it matter that it has my daughter's name on the account or are ALL ESA's for minors the parents asset?



This is the reply I got back from my broker...


In summation, the guardian on the account controls asset deposit and allocation but the money belongs to the child.

[BigBob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoe ...529 plans and Coverdell ESAs may be two of the better options to save for college without jeopardizing financial aid. These are treated as assets of the account owner, not the beneficiary. If a parent owns the 529 account or ESA, up to 5.6% of the value is included in EFC. A 529 account or ESA owned by the student, or by a trust or custodian for the student, will not be counted as the student's asset.

From my experience, if you are a middle income earner, you won't get much financial assistance short of loans. I have 2 in college now and my EFC was a ridiculously high number. IIRC, it was somewhere close to 1/2 my salary. Ya right. And I made sure my kids didn't have large account balances by my contributions to 529s/Coverdells.

[lucija]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoe 529 plans and Coverdell ESAs may be two of the better options to save for college without jeopardizing financial aid. These are treated as assets of the account owner, not the beneficiary. If a parent owns the 529 account or ESA, up to 5.6% of the value is included in EFC. A 529 account or ESA owned by the student, or by a trust or custodian for the student, will not be counted as the student's asset. Am I the owner? For financial aid purposes, is this my asset or my childs? Does it matter that it has my daughter's name on the account or are ALL ESA's for minors the parents asset? This is the reply I got back from my broker... In summation, the guardian on the account controls asset deposit and allocation but the money belongs to the child.

It may depend on the actual account set-up. I believe, if you're the account holder/owner and your kid is listed as the beneficiary, then those are your assets, not kids and he/she does not have any control over them, at least not until certain age (18? 21? 30?). For financial aid purposes, such accounts will be treated as parent's assets. However, nothing is preventing you with setting up 529/CESA in a way where account holder=beneficiary.

[JohnDoe]

I am being told by the broker that it's the childs asset. I probably set the account up wrong when I opened it. So I guess I will eventually roll is account over to a 529 account.