Financial Professionals

Information for financial professionals
Help your clients reach their college savings goals

With 20 years of 529 experience, Ohio's 529 plan is one of the oldest, largest and most respected 529 plans in the country. Ohio offers financial professionals the option to offer your clients the CollegeAdvantage Direct investment plan or the option to offer investment options from two CollegeAdvantage advisor plans - BlackRock and Putnam Investments. Each plan offers their own unique choice of quality investment options managed by leading fund managers. You can choose to work exclusively with one type of plan or choose to open different accounts for your clients in order to offer options from all three.


Why choose Ohio's 529 Plan for your clients?


$2,000 Ohio state tax deduction. If your client is an Ohio resident, contributions they make to a CollegeAdvantage account can be deducted from their Ohio taxable income. Ohio residents can deduct up to $2,000 in contributions per year per beneficiary and can carry those deductions forward indefinitely.


Income tax benefits. Pay no federal or state of Ohio income taxes on your earnings when you withdraw the money to pay for qualified higher education expenses.


Gift tax benefits. Special gift-tax exclusion enabling you to make five year’s worth of gifts (up to $65,000 or $130,000 for married couples) in a single year to a single beneficiary without triggering the federal gift tax1.


Estate tax benefits. Contributes are removed from your estate for estate tax purposes, even though you retain control over the assets.

High contribution limit. Your clients can contribute up to $331,000 per beneficiary.

Asset protection. Ohio's 529 plan may also help protect Ohio resident's assets. Under Ohio law, the assets in CollegeAdvantage qualify for preferential treatment and may be shielded from creditors in certain cases.

Account owner maintains control. Your clients never lose control of their account, so they can be sure their savings are spent wisely. They decide when and how money is withdrawn to pay for college. If their student decides not to attend college, they can name a new beneficiary, or choose to leave the funds in the account. If your clients need their savings for another purpose, they can withdraw the funds.



1Contributions to 529 college savings plans are generally treated as gifts to the beneficiary for federal gift tax purposes, including generation-skipping transfer taxes, and are subject to an annual federal gift tax exclusion amount ($13,000 for 2009). Contributors to 529 college savings plans may elect to treat contributions in excess of that amount (up to $65,000 for 2009) as prorated over 5 years. Election is made by filing a federal gift tax return. While contributions are generally excludable from contributor’s gross estate, if electing contributor dies during 5-year period, amounts allocable to years after death are includable in contributor’s gross estate. Consult your tax advisor.

If you are not an Ohio taxpayer, before you invest, consider whether your home state offers a 529 plan that provides its taxpayers with state tax or other benefits not available through this plan.

CollegeAdvantage is a 529 college savings plan offered and administered by the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority (OTTA). OTTA has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Direct program, including record-keeping and transfer agency services.

CollegeAdvantage Direct is described in the current Offering Statement and Participation Agreement, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before opening an account.

OTTA also sponsors and provides oversight of the CollegeAdvantage Advisor plans offered by BlackRock and Putnam Investments. The BlackRock CollegeAdvantage advisor plan is described in the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage Offering Statement and Participation Agreement, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before opening an account. The Putnam CollegeAdvantage advisor plan is described in the Putnam CollegeAdvantage Offering Statement and Participation Agreement, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before opening an account.

Any investment in a CollegeAdvantage mutual fund-based investment option is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other governmental agency or other party, including the state of Ohio, OTTA or any of the mutual fund firms under contract with OTTA. Any investment in a Fifth Third investment option, however, is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), up to the limits set by the FDIC. An investment in a CollegeAdvantage mutual fund investment option is not a direct investment in a mutual fund itself. Except for the Fifth Third investment options, participants assume all investment risk of an investment in CollegeAdvantage, including the potential loss of principal. Regular investing does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. The amount actually available for withdrawal will depend on the investment performance of the investment options chosen.

© 2009, Ohio Tuition Trust Authority. The OTTA silhouette logo, Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and CollegeAdvantage are registered trademarks of the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority. If you have questions, please call us at 1-800-AFFORD-IT (233-6734) Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.