Stay Informed!

By Ethan Geiling on 08/16/2011 @ 11:06 AM

Tags: Assets & Opportunity Initiative, Matched Savings

West Virginia recently launched the SMART529 Matching Grant Program to incentivize college savings for low- and moderate-income residents. Eligible residents will receive a 1:1 match on contributions to any of the state’s 529 plans, up to $500 per year with a lifetime maximum of $2,500. The matching grant program began on June 15, 2011 and was approved by the Board of Trustees of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program earlier this year.

I recently blogged about 529 plans a couple months ago, when North Dakota launched a similar college savings program. For those of you that missed that post, let me quickly get you up to speed:

A 529 savings plan is a state-sponsored, tax-preferred savings plan for college. Every state has at least one 529 plan, and many states offer multiple plans. 529 plans can be a powerful vehicle to help families save for college, especially when the state offers matching grants for contributions, like West Virginia just began doing.

According to a recent survey by the College Savings Foundation, about 76% of parents with a 529 plan have saved at least $5,000 per child, compared to only 29% of parents without one. Of course, this type of survey always brings up the correlation versus causation question (someone taking the initiative to open a 529 account is probably more likely to save regardless of the benefits of the 529). But it’s still encouraging!

West Virginia is now one of 13 states that incentivize college savings through the state 529 plan.

Comments

Leave a Comment

Email*

First Name*

Last Name

Title

Comment*

Formatting Help

You Type	You See
*italics*	italics
**bold**	bold
[ask google](http://google.com)	ask google
+ item 1 + item 2 + item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> a really cool quote from a nice person	a really cool quote from a nice person

Comment

* Required information

Preview