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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

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

• Ascensus, “Inside America's savings plans.” Editor's Take: Based on recordkeeping data by Ascensus, the 54 page report provides insight into how families save for retirement, education, health and ABLE accounts.
• Market Watch, “Here are the best sports for a college scholarship.” Editor's Take: The best path for education financial planning is saving and saving efficiently. Even if the beneficiary gets a full scholarship which occurs less than 2% of the time (see article), assets in 529s can be taken out penalty free and taxes are only paid on the investment gains portion. This is great news as the 529 accountowner has received tax deferred growth the entire time. Alternatively, the assets can be used for another family member, or used as an estate planning tool for the next generation by keeping the assets in the account as distributions do not necessarily need to get made. Altogether, the best strategy may then be to save and save efficiently with a 529 plan while trying to get a scholarship. While the article reports rowing, equestrian and rugby provide the best opportunities to get scholarships with the percentage of high school athletes to college scholarships at 50%, 33% and 11%, that ratio drops dramatically for other sports which can provide hard data for clients who falsely lay hopes on a rare scholarship. Therefore, have the college financial planning discussion with your clients today, and help them to overcome their mental hurdles and myths by having the hard conversation before it is too late.
• Boston College Center for Retirement Research, “Transfers, Bequests, and Human Capital Investment in Children over the Lifecycle.” Editor's Take: The white paper highlights the following three steps to drive financial security for children: 1) Invest time into children's education such as by reading to children 2) Invest money into children's education by paying the premium to live in a great K-12 school district or pay for private K-12 school 3) Save for them to go to college and graduate school. While the white paper was centered on education financial planning in the United Kingdom, one way for those in the US to achieve this is by opening and funding a 529 plan for them to go to college. Certain 529 plans currently do not have minimum initial and on-going contribution amounts to open and fund an account, and so all families have an opportunity to save and save efficiently for their family's education financial planning goals.
• Recruiter's Corner, “Chief Operations Officer.” Editor's Take: Virginia529 is seeking to hire a Chief Operations Officer based in North Chesterfield, Virginia. Click the link to learn more.

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:

• National Council on Disability, “NCD Letter to Senator Casey regarding ABLE Age Adjustment Act.” Editor's Take: ABLE accounts continue to improve, and this bill will further expand the capabilities of the product and ability to help more families to save and save efficiently.
• Schiff Hardin, “ABLE accounts: What they are and what they mean for your family.” Editor's Take: Primer article for you or your clients.
• 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 . Thank you for building awareness through outreach which will continue to help more families to successfully use ABLE accounts.
• Webinar by Family Support Center of New Jersey, “ABLE Act: Benefits and Limitations.” Editor's Take: Check out the educational video to learn more about ABLE accounts, and thank you to the Family Support Center of New Jersey for helping to build awareness and understanding of ABLE accounts.
• 529 Insiders, “2Q 2018 Strategic Insight 529 and ABLE Data Highlights”

Events: Strategic Insight ABLE Summit 2019 will be held on September 25, 2019, at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, to deliver training, insight and networking opportunities to support the successful implementation and growth of ABLE accounts. Please save the date, look forward to seeing you there and thank you for the support.

Save the Date: Strategic Insight 529 Conference 2019 will be held from September 23-25, 2019, at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. Sessions:

• 529 Conference: A highly interactive and educational industry gathering with the entire college financial planning ecosystem.
• 529 Essentials: A pre-conference session to train professionals on 529 plans and college financial planning in a constantly evolving market.
• ABLE Summit: A post-conference session to deliver training, insight and networking opportunities to support the successful implementation and growth of ABLE accounts.

Please email Paul Curley at paul.curley@strategic-i.com to inquire about having him provide a 529 or ABLE continuing education or industry landscape update presentation, or to participate in an event or podcast.

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