Author Archives

  • Stop to smell the roses

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    Sheila Salehian
    Senior Deputy Treasurer, State of Nevada
    February 2, 2015

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    Happy Valentine’s Day! Have you ever wondered about the history of this holiday? Valentines Day is said to have started with an ancient Roman fertility ceremony called Lupercalia, held in mid-February, dating as far back as 496 AD. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius made it a Christian holiday, and moved the date back one day, to the 14th of February.  There was more than one saint named “Valentine” and as the holiday grew in popularity, it become associated with love and romance in the 1300’s. By the 1840’s it was celebrated in the U.S. with cards to loved ones.

  • President Realizes Formula for College Success Includes Savings Incentives

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    Betty Lochner
    Chair of the College Savings Plans Network & Director of Washington State’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program
    January 29, 2015

    When I was elected Chair of the College Savings Plans Network (CSPN), never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be debating the value of one of the core benefits and characteristics of 529 plans with the President of the United States. Nonetheless, that is exactly what happened this past week when President Obama announced his plan to repeal the tax benefits associated with 529 college savings plans.

    As soon as the President’s proposal was announced as part of his State of the Union address, members of CSPN rallied together like never before to unite in an advocacy effort to defend the value of 529 plans for the more than 12 million American families that own accounts.  Our goal was to remind the President and our elected officials that planning and saving are vital components to ensuring higher education enrollment rates continue to rise in our country and that families receive the support they need in helping their children fulfill their dreams.

  • Create your own strategy to college planning

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    Francesca Nelson
    Public Affairs Officer – College Savings Plans of Maryland
    January 26, 2015

    In Maryland, we recently surveyed more than 1,000 families to see how they are preparing for the rising cost of college. Our research showed that 68% of families who are saving for college believe they will pay for all or part of their child’s college education. Of those not saving, 90% still believe that their child will attend a 4-year university. This financial commitment can be daunting, but not if you choose to plan ahead and do the proper research.

  • President’s College Plan: Well Intentioned with Misguided Funding Strategy

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    Betty Lochner
    Chair of the College Savings Plan Network & Director of Washington State’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program
    January 22, 2015

    During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address President Barack Obama proposed some philosophical changes in the road to higher education, including a strategy that provides free community college for all Americans. The idea of creating greater access to higher education to strengthen our country’s economy, workforce and the number of career opportunities for our citizens is commendable and inspiring.

  • From Dream to Reality: Children’s Savings Accounts Build Money and Momentum to Get More Children to College

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    By Lisa Groen
    Senior Writer, Utah Educational Savings Plan
    January 19, 2015

    More than 50 years ago, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke the words, “I have a dream,” he contrasted racial injustice with the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equality and opportunity for all. He called for change, including equal access to education.

    As the nation’s college savings plans continue to work to ensure that King’s dream of equal access is fully realized, they can rely on encouraging data that lends understanding to what may help children attain a college education. William Elliott, a researcher on the topic of children’s savings accounts (CSAs), reports that when children have savings accounts in their names, they are more likely to attend college, regardless of their parents’ personal savings and net worth. A child with as little as $1 to $499 in a CSA is 3 times more likely to enroll and 2.5 times more likely to graduate from college.*  This suggests that designating a savings account for a child’s future college expenses, regardless of the amount saved, may be vital to academic attainment—important information for families considering opening a 529 college savings account.

  • Resolving to Improve

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    By Jodi Golden
    Indiana Education Savings Authority
    January 12, 2015

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    Being a couple of weeks into the New Year, a lot of us are already questioning some of those New Year resolutions we made on January 1. Unfortunately, a large number of Americans struggle with continuing that healthy diet or active exercise regimen. These are vitally important to living a quality life and should certainly be a priority.
    However, another type of resolution frequently made and broken pertains to financial goals. Be it creating an emergency fund, paying off debt or saving for your children’s college education, we all start out with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, they don’t always last.

    In the spirit of encouragement, I’ve found a few helpful tips in an article from U.S. News and World Report* that could ultimately help other areas of your financial life; allowing you to then focus on saving for other important goals such as retirement and education.

  • Saving for College is Easier than Diet & Exercise

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    Betty Lochner
    Chair of the College Savings Plans Network and Director of Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program

    January 5, 2015

    The new-year is upon us and that means many of us have set resolutions like finding time to exercise more, eat well or accomplish a long-established goal.

    While I see the merit in making resolutions, I’ve never been one to make too many of them. There is one life-changing resolution I did make 15 years ago when I was hired as the Director of the GET program. Believe it or not, my husband and I had not started saving for our children’s college education and I knew if we did not start now we were never going to make it happen. We started small and kept adding to the effort over the years and I am proud to say that both of my kids graduated debt-free! My son recently completed his MBA at the University of Washington and is now a project manager at Microsoft and my daughter followed in her father’s footsteps and is a first grade teacher.

  • This holiday, I wish you Peace

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    LaKesha Page
    Director of College Savings, TNStars College Savings 529 Program
    State of Tennessee Treasury Department
    December 22, 2014

    While the holiday season adds to my already full to-do list, the festivities of the holiday are truly enhancements to my family’s busy lives filled with work, school, extra- curricular activities, club meetings, church and social affairs.

  • ABLE Act Heads to President for Approval and Signature into Law

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    Betty Lochner
    Chair of the College Savings Plans Network & Director of Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program.
    December 18, 2014<

    The US Senate has passed the ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act of 2014 after this same legislation recently advanced through the US House of Representatives ( see Wall Street Journal article).  Now the legislation goes to the President for his approval and is expected to be signed into law before the end of 2014. If written into law, the changes become effective for investors in 2015.

    ABLE is proposed federal legislation that would allow families and individuals to save through a Federal tax-advantaged account for future qualified expenses associated with the care of a person with a disability.  Qualified expenses are those related to the individual’s disability, including health, education, housing, transportation, training, assistive technology, and personal support.