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Along with our age-based investment options, Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, offers age-based savings strategies for parents who want to select their own 529 investment options. No matter how old your child is, Ohio’s 529 Plan has guidance on what to do at this current stage of their life. It’s never too early and never too late to save for their higher education. In this last article of a six-part series, Ohio’s 529 Plan shares recommendations on what steps you can take after your child graduates from college.

After College

And congratulations, your child has finished their higher education! You’ve done a great job shepherding them to the new chapter of their lives.

If there are any funds left in the 529 plan, you have some options. The 529 account can be used to pay for your child’s continuing education — whether it’s graduate, law, or medical school, or other certification. You can also choose to transfer the remaining 529 funds to another member of the family, anyone related by blood, marriage, or adoption. A family member includes you as the parent if you would like to use the account to go back to college to complete  a degree or pursue additional professional certification. As your Ohio 529 plan doesn’t have an expiration date, you can even keep building the account for your future grandchildren.

If there’s no one else who could use the college savings fund, you can close out the account during the year in which you made your last withdrawal to cover your child’s qualified higher education expense. Please keep in mind the IRS requires the withdrawal to occur during the same calendar year as the qualified higher educational expense is incurred. Fill in the Direct Withdrawal Request Form or make the request online asking for 100% liquidation as well as to close the account.

You can select who will receive that payment, whether you as the Account Owner or your student as the Beneficiary, perhaps as a graduation present. Keep in mind, as a non-qualified withdrawal, there will be a 10% federal tax penalty applied on the earnings. Whoever receives that payment will also pay federal, state, and local tax on the earnings portion only of the withdrawal to close the account.

Thank you for trusting Ohio’s 529 plan with your college savings. If you have any additional questions about closing your account, our Customer Service Department is open from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday- Friday. You can reach them at 1-800-AFFORD IT or 1-800-233-6734. Be sure to visit the blog section of CollegeAdvantage.com to explore for more college savings information.

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529 Short Course: New Parents

5 things every new parent needs to know about saving for education

  1. Why Ohio 529?
    529s are specifically created for higher education savings. Unlike a traditional banking account, a 529 account benefits from tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals. For Ohio residents, there is also a state income tax deduction for those contributions.
  2. It’s simple to start.
    You can open your 529 account online in minutes with as little as $25. With ready-made portfolio options, you don’t have to be a financial expert to feel confident in your savings plan choices.
  3. Set it and forget it with automatic deposits.
    The sooner you start saving, the longer your account benefits from the Ohio 529 tax advantages as well as compound interest. Many new parents take their 529 contributions off their to-do list by setting up small automatic deposits from either their banking accounts or paycheck. Also, with our ReadySave 529 app, it’s also easy to track and adjust your account right on your mobile device.
  4. Save for college, career training, and more.
    Ohio 529 can be used at over 30,000 schools of all kinds, nationwide, including universities; community colleges; trade, technical, and vocational schools; certificate programs; and apprenticeships. Your Ohio 529 account can also pay for K-12 tuition at a public, private, or religious school. And, if it’s not needed for educational expenses, you can now roll over your 529 to a Roth IRA.
  5. Others can help.
    It’s easy for family and friends to contribute to your child’s account and receive tax benefits for themselves. You can share your account’s unique Ugift number with others to contribute online without creating their own 529 accounts. Those who live in Ohio will also receive a state income tax deduction for their contributions. Also, you can sign up to have reminder emails sent to you and loved ones for the big milestones in your child’s life.

Hoping to find gold at the end of the rainbow? If you are saving with Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage, you have the benefit of Ugift with your account, which is savings gold.

Ugift makes it easy for others to give to your Ohio 529 account. With Ugift, you generate a unique code which allows loved ones to contribute to your Ohio 529 savings plan without needing the actual account number. Once they have the Ugift code, your friends and family can visit Ugift529.com to make their online gifts directly to your 529.

When friends and family ask for gift ideas, share that you are saving for your child’s future education with Ohio 529. Then invite them to join in with gift contributions to your Ohio 529 account with Ugift. After all, a gift for your child’s education will truly last a lifetime.

The quickest and easiest way to pass along your child’s Ugift code is with the ReadySave 529 app, which you can access as an Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage account owner. At the bottom of every page is an Ugift icon. Click on the gift symbol to view your Ugift code which you can send immediately as an invitation via texts, emails, and Facebook/Instagram chats from your phone.

Or log into your account online to view your child’s Ugift code to send to family and friends who would like to give the gift of education.

The Ugift code doesn’t expire. Which means whenever there is an occasion to celebrate­ like baby showers, holidays, birthdays, graduations, and special achievements, your family and friends can give to your Ohio 529 account. And they can choose to contribute as much as they want whenever they want. It can be a one-time gift or recurring gift; all they need is that Ugift code. Your loved ones’ contributions - whether big or small – will add up over the years. Added to the power of compound interest, these gifts will power your 529 savings to cover even more college and career training costs.

An added bonus for gift givers who live in Ohio: They are also eligible to receive a state income tax deduction for their Ohio 529 gift contributions, up to $4,000 per year, per beneficiary.

To learn more about all of the gifting options with Ohio 529 and order cards for special occasions, visit  529 Gift Central.

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