– 529 Insiders Article of the Week
– News & Research
– Data
– ABLE Act Column
– Events

529 Dash, Required Reading for Your 529 Education: The goal of the 529 Dash is to address the specific needs and concerns of advisers, accountants and estate planners who sell and service families and institutions in the college financial planning process by providing industry relevant news, product training and best practices.

Please Read, Engage and Share.

Paul Curley, CFA
Editor-in-Chief of 529 Dash
Director of College Savings Research
paul.curley@strategic-i.com
Twitter: @PaulCurleyBC
LinkedIn: Strategic Insight 529 Dash LinkedIn Group

529 Industry Update and Marketing Sizing

• What was the most important 529 legislative update in 2017, and what was the 529 market sizing as of 4Q 2017?

Here is what you need to know from stories, research and data released this week:

• Financial Advisor Magazine, “The buy-in for 529 college savings plans.” Editor's Take: Thank you Asia Martin for covering the College Savings Foundation Conference 2018, and for quoting Paul Curley and Strategic Insight in the article. Read the article to learn about key 529 distribution trends.
• NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators), “2017 tax year – federal tax benefits for higher education.” Editor's Take: While primarily focused on the paying and repaying stages of college financial planning, the article does provide a thorough overview of those stages and hence worth the time to review.
• Kiplinger, “How well do you know 529 plans?” Editor's Take: Thank you Kiplinger for writing the creative 12 question quiz. Take the quiz to test your knowledge, and it's not as easy as one would expect. Also, thank you Brenda of Spectra Professional Services for sharing this article with me, and much appreciated.

Here is the latest 529 and ABLE market data by Strategic Insight that can be used by the media and other organizations.

ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for certain individuals with disabilities and their families.

News, Research, Data & Resources:
– CUInsight, “ABLE Accounts fund disabled childrens’ futures.” Editor's Take: Bottom of the article provides a comparison between ABLE accounts and Special Needs Trusts or Pooled Income Trust.
– MEFA, “Receive Attainable Updates.” Editor's Take: Sign up to receive updates on the program.
– Twitter, “Tweets. Media.” Editor's Take: This section provides links to live photos taken and posted over the past week by ABLE program managers, and this week includes posts by ABLE New Mexico and NC ABLE Program. Thank you for building awareness through outreach which will continue to help more families to successfully use ABLE accounts.
– 529 Insiders, “529 & ABLE 4Q 2017 529 Data Highlights”

Events: Strategic Insight ABLE Summit 2018 will be held on September 26, 2018, at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.

When: September 24-26, 2018
Where: JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes
What: A highly interactive and educational industry gathering with the entire college financial planning ecosystem.

Update: A new 529 Conference website has been launch, and the agenda for 2018 will start to get reported online starting in April 2018.

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