One Account for Kids’ School & Retirement?

In this episode we kept the November sports theme alive. Lions jerseys and volleyball sweatshirts. A little friendly banter about who is a true Lions fan and who joined the party once the wins showed up. But once the sports talk wrapped up we shifted into a topic that comes up constantly for parents and soon to be parents. The 529 account.

What is it? How does it work? And why does it feel like every conversation about kids and college includes some random string of numbers and letters?

We Jacqueline and Michael, CFP®. EA break down the 529 in plain English so you can understand

💭 How could you tax free growth on education savings

💭 Who should consider opening the account and when

💭 Why parents sometimes open one for themselves before kids are even born

💭 How scholarships affect the money

💭 what counts as qualified education from K-12 to college to trade school

💭 The new option to move money into a Roth account

💭 The rules like the fifteen year clock and the thirty five thousand dollar lifetime limit

💭 When it may make sense to front load contributions

💭 How state plans work and why you can choose any state you want

We also talk through the real life side of this. What if your kid gets a full ride. What if they do not go to college. What if you want them to have some skin in the game. What if you want to help with retirement too. 529's have more flexibility than most people realize and they could be a powerful long term strategy when they are understood clearly.