September is College Savings Month so it’s a good time to consider 529s. These are college savings plans designed to help people, especially families, set aside money for future college expenses.

They can be used to pay for any qualified college nationwide, including UNT, and despite what state your plan comes from, you can still attend any eligible college in the country.

A bill has been introduced to Congress that would allow more flexibility for plan holders and their financial advisers. The bill, HR 1351, would make the changes that have been in practice this past year permanent.

There are two plans that can be chosen from, a savings plan and a prepaid plan.

The savings plan works like a 401K and invests the deposited money in mutual funds or other similar investments. The success or failure of these investments affects the value of your account. The prepaid plan allows you to pre-pay all or part of the expenses for college, and within that plan you can choose to work toward an in-state college, an out-of-state college or a private college.

In the past the number of plan changes a person could make was limited to one per year. If this bill passes, people can make two changes per year. This would allow greater flexibility for people trying to save for college, either for themselves or for a family member.

The editorial staff feels it is a positive step toward giving people more control over their college savings plans, and that the change is a long time coming. With the average college student graduating with more than $20,000 in debt, according to MSN Money, savings plans are certainly an advantageous option to consider.

While this bill is definitely a step in the right direction, the editorial board hopes that in the future even more flexibility will be possible with regard to making changes to these plans. For now, however, students should pay attention to this bill and give it their full support as it makes its way into law. hopefully To contact your local representative, Michael Burgess, call (222) 225-7772.

The NT Daily Editorial Board includes:
Andrew McLemore, Amanda Mielcarek, Shaina Zucker, Courtney Roberts, Brooke Cowlishaw, Kip Mooney, Abigail Allen, Sydnie Summers, Brianne Tolj, Christena Dowsett, Justin Umberton and David Lucio.


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