EPISODE 7~ MAKE MORE: Like, 30 Percent More, BY Investing In Another State’s 529 Plan

WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW YOU MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE MONEY TO PAY FOR COLLEGE BY INVESTING IN AN OUT-OF- STATE 529 PLAN. OF THOSE WHO INVEST IN A 529, 80 PERCENT CHOOSE THE ONE IN THEIR OWN STATE, ACCORDING TO THE INVESTMENT COMPANY INSTITUTE, WHICH DID A STUDY. MANY PARENTS DON’T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ELSE IS POSSIBLE.

THAT’S WHY I COVERED THIS TOPIC IN ONE OF MY WASHINGTON POST COLUMNS AND WHY I’M BRINGING IT UP HERE. YOU SEE, SOME STATE 529 PLANS FEATURE HIGHER RETURNS AND LOWER FEES THAT CAN HELP YOU SAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE FOR COLLEGE. SOME NUMBERS FROM NERDWALLET.COM DRIVE THIS POINT HOME: IF YOU INVESTED $5,000 IN OREGON’S PLAN IN 2010, FIVE YEARS LATER YOUR ACCOUNT WOULD HAVE GROWN TO $7,714. BUT IF YOU INVESTED THE SAME $5,000 IN MICHIGAN’S PLAN, FIVE YEARS LATER YOUR ACCOUNT WOULD HAVE GROWN TO $10,017. THAT’S $2,303 MORE AND JUST ON 5- THOUSAND BUCKS OVER 5 YEARS! TO BE CLEAR, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT 529 PREPAID TUITION PLANS, WHICH ALLOW YOU TO LOCK IN TODAY’S TUITION RATES, USUALLY AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN ONE OF THE 11 STATES THAT OFFER THEM. NO, I AM TALKING ABOUT 529 SAVINGS PLANS, WHICH ARE INDIVIDUAL INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS THAT GROW TAX-FREE AS LONG AS YOU USE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR COLLEGE COSTS.

IT’S TOO BAD THAT BOTH TYPES OF PLAN HAVE THE TERM “529” IN THEIR NAME. THIS CAUSES A LOT OF CONFUSION AND LEAVES MANY PARENTS THINKING THEY CAN ONLY START A 529 IN THEIR OWN STATE OR USE IT TO PAY FOR IN-STATE TUITION. AND THAT’S TOTALLY WRONG! OK, SO NOW YOU KNOW YOU CAN INVEST IN AN OUT-OF- STATE 529 SAVINGS PLAN. NEXT DILEMMA: WHICH STATE DO YOU CHOOSE? HERE’S THE KEY: WEIGH ANY TAX DEDUCTIONS OFFERED BY YOUR OWN STATE FOR INVESTING IN ITS PLAN, AGAINST THE HIGHER PROFITS AND LOWER FEES THAT MAY BE POSSIBLE IN ANOTHER STATE’S PLAN. HERE ARE THE CATEGORIES —AND THE STRATEGIES— YOU SHOULD BE KEEPING IN MIND.

States that offer a tax deduction or credit for investing in their 529 plan: States: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. THE Strategy WITH THOSE 27 STATES PLUS DC IS TO Assess how valuable THEIR tax deduction really is. THERE ARE BIG DIFFERENCES. the website SavingForCollege.com SAYS a couple making $100,000 a year and PUTTING $100 a month INto their child’s in-state 529 plan would get a TAX deduction of $360 A YEAR in Indiana, but just $37 in North Dakota. If your state’s tax

deduction is worthwhile, one strategy is to invest the maximum deductible amount in its plan and also invest in another state 529 plan to take advantage of low fees and high returns. This is also a way of diversifying your portfolio. States that do not offer a tax deduction for investing in their 529 plan; States: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey and North Carolina.

NINE STATES DO NOT OFFER A TAX DEDUCTION. THE STRATEGY THEN, SINCE THERE’S NO PAYOUT FOR STAYING IN-STATE, IS TO CHOOSE A 529 SAVINGS PLAN WITH A GOOD BALANCE OF LOW FEES AND HIGH RETURNS. FEES VARY DRAMATICALLY, FROM JUST .05 PERCENT OF YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE FOR ONE MASSACHUSETTS 529 PLAN TO 1.09

PERCENT FOR ONE ALASKA PLAN. States with no income tax, so no 529 income tax deduction: States: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. ANOTHER NINE STATES DO NOT HAVE AN INCOME TAX SO CAN’T OFFER A DEDUCTION AGAINST IT. IN THAT CASE, ONCE AGAIN, THERE IS NO MONETARY INCENTIVE FOR STAYING IN-STATE, SO YOU CAN CHOOSE A 529 SAVINGS PLAN WITH A GOOD BALANCE OF LOW FEES AND HIGH RETURNS.

States that give you a tax deduction for investing in any state’s 529: States: Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, Montana and Pennsylvania.

AND FINALLY, THESE FIVE STATES WILL GIVE YOU A TAX DEDUCTION FOR INVESTING IN ANY STATE’S 529 PLAN. GOD LOVE ‘EM. IN THIS CASE, LUCKY YOU, YOU’RE GOING TO GET A TAX DEDUCTION REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU INVEST, SO PICK A STATE 529 SAVINGS PLAN WITH A GOOD BALANCE OF LOW FEES AND HIGH PROFITS. HAVING STATED ALL OF THOSE STRATEGIES, I KNOW IT’S HARD TO FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN WHETHER YOUR TAX DEDUCTION IS WORTHWHILE AND WHICH STATE 529 PLANS OFFER THE BEST BALANCE OF LOW FEES AND HIGH PROFITS. FORTUNATELY THERE ARE MANY RESOURCES ONLINE.

RATING SERVICE MORNINGSTAR RANKS 529 PLANS EITHER GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE, NEUTRAL OR NEGATIVE, BUT WITHOUT LISTING THEIR FEES OR PERFORMANCE, SO CONSIDER THIS RATING AN OVERVIEW. NERDWALLET HAS A CALCULATOR THAT ASKS YOU YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AND THEN SUGGESTS WHETHER YOUR OWN STATE PLAN IS WORTH LOOKING AT, PLUS OTHER PLANS TO CONSIDER. I LIKE NERD WALLET’S TOOL BECAUSE IT TELLS YOU HOW ITS RECOMMENDED 529S PERFORMED OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND HOW MUCH THEY CHARGE IN FEES.

FINALLY, COLLEGESAVINGS.ORG OFFERS THE MOST DETAILED COMPARISON TOOL. YOU CHOOSE PLANS YOU WANT TO COMPARE AND IT MAKES A CHART FOR YOU, WITH DETAILS LIKE WHAT THEIR FEES ARE, WHETHER THE STATE MATCHES 529 CONTRIBUTIONS (A FEW STATES DO THIS FOR LOW INCOME CITIZENS.) AND ALSO MINIMUM STARTING CONTRIBUTIONS AND MAXIMUM LIFETIME CONTRIBUTIONS. IF YOUR CASHFLOW IS TIGHT, YOU MAY WANT TO CHOOSE A STGATE LIKE UTAH THAT ALLOWS YOU TO START BY INVESTING AS LITTLE AS A PENNY. BY CONTRAST, ONE NEW YORK PLAN REQUIRES $1,000 TO GET STARTED. YOU SHOULD ALSO THINK ABOUT MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTIONS PARTICULARLY IF YOU THINK YOUR CHILD WILL GO TO GRAD SCHOOL.

SOME MORE EXAMPLES: TWO OF VIRGINIA’S PLANS ALLOW YOU TO CONTRIBUTE AS MUCH AS $500,000. BUT ONE OF MICHIGAN’S 529 PLANS ONLY ALLOWS YOU TO SOCK AWAY $88,000.

I KNOW THIS SOUNDS COMPLICATED BUT THERE’S BIG MONEY AT STAKE SO IT’S WORTH DIGESTING THIS INFO. IF YOU’RE STILL WORRIED YOU WON’T GET IT RIGHT, THOUGH, RELAX, MANY 529 PLANS ALLOW ROLLOVERS, GIVING YOU THE CHANCE TO TRANSFER YOUR MONEY FROM ONE 529 TO ANOTHER. PLUS, INVESTING IN ANY 529 IS BETTER THAN INVESTING IN NONE AT ALL.

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