Ohio’s four-year state universities recently announced their tuition rates for the 2024-2025 school year. With this data, CollegeAdvantage has calculated the Weighted Average Tuition (WAT) for the CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed 529 Plan. Please note, this college savings plan has been closed to new enrollments and new investments since Dec. 31, 2003.
2024-2025 WAT rate
Effective July 25, 2024, the payout rates* for the CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed 529 Savings Plan will be:
Tuition Unit: $128.41
Tuition Credit: $147.67
Please use these numbers to help you figure the withdrawal amount to request on the Guaranteed Plan Withdrawal form. Make sure to verify your account balance before requesting a withdrawal.
How is the WAT rate calculated?
How does Ohio’s 529 Plan determine the WAT rate? According to the 2016 Plan Description for the CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed 529 Savings Plan, WAT is “calculated as follows: 1. Multiply the annual in-state undergraduate tuition for the academic year at each of the Four-Year State Universities times the number of undergraduate full-time equivalent students at each such university; 2. Add together the products derived from (1) above; and 3. Divide the total of these products by the total number of undergraduate full-time equivalent students attending Four-Year State Universities.”
The Four-Year State Universities, listed in the Ohio Revised Code Section 3345.011, include University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, Central State University, University of Cincinnati, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Miami University, Ohio University, Ohio State University, Shawnee State University, University of Toledo, Wright State University, and Youngstown State University.
Guidance for making withdrawals
During summer, it’s the right time to prepare for the new school year by making sure all your account and address information is up-to-date in your CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed 529 Plan. Once you do, you can be confident that your withdrawals to pay for your child’s qualified expenses should not hit any snags. Ohio’s 529 Plan offers guidance on how to best request these withdrawals. Please remember that as the account owner, you are responsible to maintain the records showing that the Guaranteed 529 withdrawals are used for qualified education expenses for tax records.
Use our calculators and tools
If you would like to continue saving for college costs, you can open a CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Plan. Use our tools and calculators to shape your college savings goals, adjust your 529 account according to your child’s time frame before college, and discover how comfortable you are with risk to determine the right asset allocation mix.
You can also transfer your CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed Plan account to the CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Plan account or BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Advisor Plan account. It will be considered an exchange of assets, not a rollover. As such, it is subject to the twice-a-year calendar year limitation placed on exchanges by IRS rules governing 529 plans. Here is the form to transfer your Guaranteed 529 Plan account to either an Ohio Direct 529 Plan or BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Advisor Plan.
Another new option is a 529-to-Roth IRA rollover. You can now move any remaining funds in your CollegeAdvantage Guaranteed Plan account to a Roth IRA for the same beneficiary of the 529 account without any penalties or taxes. If you’re interested to learn more about the new benefit, here’s guidance on how to do the rollover.
Already have student in the Direct 529 Plan and need to make a withdrawal from that plan as well? Here’s a link to Direct 529 Plan withdrawal guidance.
* Withdrawal values are calculated according to Ohio Administrative Code and may change at any time and without notice.
**The Ohio Tuition Trust Authority does not provide investment advice. The information contained herein is informational only and should not be relied upon exclusively to make your investment decisions. Investment options should be selected based on your investment goals, risk tolerance, and savings time horizon.
Please note: The earnings portion of non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to taxes and a possible 10% federal tax penalty. If you are considering taking a non-qualified withdrawal, please consult your professional tax advisor.
