Students and Families Receive Cost Savings and System Improvements through New VT529 Platform

Winooski, Vermont—This coming year, the nearly 31,000 students and families who save for education and training through VT529 will collectively save an estimated $1.5 million in fees. VT529 is Vermont’s official college and training savings plan, administered by VSAC and now managed by Vestwell.

The savings reflects a 50% reduction in program fees, one of the biggest benefits that Vestwell will bring to account owners.

“Students and families trust us to help them invest in their future,” said Scott Giles, President and CEO of VSAC. “Lower fees are key to helping families make the most of their money as they save for college and job training. Students spent nearly $62 million on college and training from VT529 accounts in the last fiscal year, and more than 15,000 students have used over $422,000,000 to cover qualified education expenses since VT529 started in 1999. Every dollar counts as investments grow."

Vermont residents are also eligible for a 10% tax credit for VT529 contributions (up to $250 per beneficiary per year, or $500 per beneficiary per year for joint filers).

People wishing to save for college or training (on behalf of themselves or anyone else) may open an account with $25 and set up recurring contributions and payroll deductions, as well as load funds onto a prepaid VT529 VISA debit card that can be used for qualified purchases anywhere that VISA is accepted.

The transition to Vestwell brings VSAC’s VT529 account owners a slate of other benefits that help them optimize and customize their savings experience: 
•    Invite family and friends to contribute: Share the URL to your unique gifting page so friends and family can easily contribute to your account. Whether for a birthday, baby shower, holiday, graduation, or just because, a gift page provides a meaningful way for friends, family, and community to help with savings goals.
•    More options to allocate investments: Choose from among five different investment options and 12 beneficiary age bands to make sure your selections meet your needs.
•    Create savings goals: Add goals and set up recurring contributions to make it easier to reach your savings targets.
•    Fun ways to save: Enable the “weather booster” to make a contribution when the daily precipitation forecast is higher than 50% in your selected zip code.
•    An app and website chat function.

Funds in VT529 accounts grow tax-free, with the flexibility to apply savings toward a variety of education-related expenses. VT529 savings can help pay for tuition, computers, housing, meals, travel, fees, and the costs for qualified programs or training at institutions throughout the U.S. (as well as at schools in Canada and around the world). Borrowers can even use the funds to pay back student loans.

In addition, new financial aid rules allow that a withdrawal (used for qualified education expenses) from a VT529 plan owned by a grandparent will not reduce a student’s eligibility for need-based financial aid under the FAFSA. In other words, distributions from VT529 accounts owned by grandparents are no longer reported as student income on the FAFSA—yet another incentive for a grandparent to maximize long-term college savings through a VT529 account.

VT529 funds are flexible and can be used for qualified two- or four-year colleges, apprenticeships, certifications, technical education, college and grad school, and more. There is no time limit to using funds, and funds can be transferred among beneficiaries.

To learn more about saving for college and training with VT529, visit VT529.org.