College savings plans in Virginia
July 28, 2010 6:00 AMVirginia Prepaid Education Program (VPEP)
- Buy tomorrow’s college education today
- Lets Virginia families prepay the cost of tomorrow’s college tuition and mandatory fees today.
- Contract payments cover future in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the normal full-time course load at Virginia’s public colleges and universities.
- These benefits may also be applied toward the cost of tuition and fees at VA private colleges as well as most colleges and universities nationwide, and in certain cases, around the world too.
Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST)
- No age limits or state residency requirements; open one any time
- an individual savings account, invested in your choice of portfolios of stocks and bonds, intended specifically for the payment of qualified higher education expenses for the designated beneficiary.
- Contract payments cover future in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the normal full-time course load at Virginia’s public colleges and universities.
- can be used for a wider range of higher education expenses than VPEP; start saving now to help avoid debt later.
CollegeAmerica
- VCSP’s partnership w/ the American Funds, one of the oldest and largest mutual fund companies in the country
- Offers unique opportunity to choose from 22 American Funds while working w/ your financial adviser to build a college savings plan that meets your specific needs.
- Available only through financial advisers.
- Allows you to save tax free for qualified higher education expenses including: tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, textbooks, supplies and equipment required by a college for a student’s enrollment.
CollegeWealth
- the Commonwealth’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured-529 college savings program, provided in partnership w/ participating financial institutions
- Allows families to benefit from the federal and, for VA residents, state tax advantages of 529 accounts—and take advantage of the FDIC insurance coverage of a bank deposit account—by opening a CollegeWealth bank account to save for their children’s or their own higher education
- May appeal to conservative investors as each CollegeWealth college savings account w/ a value up to $250,000 (when combined w/ any other holdings of an individual at any one bank) is backed by the FDIC.
- Flexible, w/ no state residency requirement and no income phase outs.
- affordable for everyone, w/ low initial account deposits and interest rates established by each participating bank or financial institution. lets account owners save according to their own budgets and timetables—with the availability to make regular, scheduled deposits.can grow free of federal income taxes.withdrawals also will be tax free when used for qualified higher education expenses including: tuition, fees, room and board, textbooks and equipment required by a college for enrollment.VA taxpayers receive up to a $4,000 annual state income tax deduction – with an unlimited carry forward – per CollegeWealth account.
Source: Virginia College Savings Plan
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