On Dec. 5, 2025, Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage rolled out a new age bracket to our Ohio Vanguard Target Enrollment Portfolio (TEP) — the 2044/2045 Fund. This new fund will be for any beneficiary who will begin to draw from their Ohio 529 account starting in 2044 or 2045.
Additionally, the 2022/2023 Fund was closed permanently for investments at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. This fund will be automatically transitioned into the Commencement Fund. For families in the 2022/2023 TEP fund, you will now be contributing to the Commencement Fund for your student.
The Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolio (TEP) is invested based on the anticipated date your beneficiary will begin using the funds for their higher education, whether at a four-year college or university, a two-year community or technical college, trade or vocational school, qualifying apprenticeship, and certificate or credential program.
Generally, in a TEP, your savings are invested based on the year that the beneficiary of your Ohio 529 account will need to start withdrawing the 529 funds for their education after high school, which is typically at age 18. Or you can choose to save in another age band of the TEP based on your own risk tolerance. For instance, if your child entered kindergarten in 2025 and is planning to enroll in college 13 years later, you would want to consider the 2038/2039 fund.
While you are investing in a TEP, the portfolio will automatically adjust each quarter to regularly reduce the amount of risk in it in small increments. TEPs follow a smooth glide path asset allocation strategy, which shifts from investments that have more risk, like stocks, toward more conservative investments, like bonds and cash, as your beneficiary approaches the time for post-high school education.
Another advantage of a TEP is that you can choose a fund based on your risk tolerance. First, you should determine the year when your child will need to access your 529 savings. With the earlier example, your current first-grader would need the 529 account in 12 years, so you would look at the 2036/2037 TEP fund. You can then adjust the risk profile of your investments by moving up to a TEP fund with a later date for more equity exposure, or down to a TEP fund with an earlier college enrollment date for more fixed income exposure.
Ohio’s 529 Plan is committed to providing quick, friendly, and professional customer service through our Columbus, Ohio-based customer service representatives. If you have any questions about the TEP investment option, or if you need information or assistance with your account, please call CollegeAdvantage at 1-800-AFFORD-IT (233-6734). Our customer service representatives are available to assist you from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. EST Monday through Friday. You may also send your non-account specific questions to CustomerService@CollegeAdvantage.com.
Since 1989, Ohio 529 has been helping families across the nation save for their children’s education after high school. Ohio 529 covers qualified costs at any four-year college or university, two-year community college, trade or vocational school, apprenticeship approved by the U.S. Labor Department, and certificate or credential program nationwide that accepts federal financial aid. Learn, plan, and start for as little as $25 today at CollegeAdvantage.
