Plan Today, Thrive Tomorrow: Designing 529 College Savings Plans

Plan Today, Thrive Tomorrow: Designing 529 College Savings Plans

Time to read: Minutes

Voya’s 529 plans provide tax advantages, diverse investment options and adaptive strategies to help families maximize their college savings and prepare for future education expenses. In this article, we explain our investment approach and key considerations for college savers.

Key takeaways

  • For a child born today, four years of college starting in 2042 will cost nearly half a million dollars for a private university or a quarter of a million for a state college, underscoring the importance of early and effective college savings. 
  • Our 529 college savings plans help families maximize growth potential through age-based and risk-based strategies, using the Voya glide path model, which optimizes a portfolio’s mix of stocks and bonds over time with respect to a certain spending goal. 
  • These plans offer tax-deferred growth and the possibility of tax-free withdrawals for qualified education expenses, as well as the flexibility to adapt to evolving education needs and regulatory changes, making them instrumental in helping families prepare for college expenses.
IM3811071

For use by qualified institutional investors and financial professionals only. Not for inspection by, distribution to or quotation to the general public. 

An investor cannot invest directly in an index, and index performance does not reflect the deduction of any fees, expenses or taxes. Index comparisons have limitations, as volatility and other characteristics may differ from a particular investment. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index composed of securities from Bloomberg’s Government/Corporate Bond Index, Mortgage Backed Securities Index and Asset Backed Securities Index; it includes securities that are of investment grade quality or better and have at least one year to maturity. The MSCI All Country World Index is an unmanaged, free float–adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in global developed and emerging markets. 

Investments in 529 plans are not guaranteed or insured and are subject to investment risks, including the loss of the principal amount invested. The tax information herein is not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Taxpayers should seek advice based on their own particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. An investor’s home state may offer state tax or other benefits that are only available for investment in that state’s qualified tuition program. Please consider this possibility before investing. The earnings component of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal and state taxes and the additional federal 10% tax. 

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks and charges and expenses of 529 plans and their underlying funds before investing. This and other information can be found in the Program Description or other disclosure documents of the 529 Plan. You may obtain this information from the program’s administrators or your financial professional. Please read all materials carefully before investing or sending money. 

Past performance does not guarantee future results. This market insight has been prepared by Voya Investment Management for informational purposes. Nothing contained herein should be construed as (i) an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any security or (ii) a recommendation as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling any security. Any opinions expressed herein reflect our judgment and are subject to change. Certain statements contained herein may represent future expectations or other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation, (1) general economic conditions, (2) performance of financial markets, (3) interest rate levels, (4) increasing levels of loan defaults, (5) changes in laws and regulations and (6) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities. The opinions, views and information expressed in this commentary regarding holdings are subject to change without notice. The information provided regarding holdings is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Fund holdings are fluid and are subject to daily change based on market conditions and other factors.

Top