529 Dash, Required Reading for Your 529 Education: 
The 529 Dash e‑newsletter helps institutions, financial professionals, employers, and families navigate education financial planning by sharing timely industry news, product insights, market data, and best practices while promoting awareness of 529 plans and ABLE accounts.

Please Read, Engage and Share.

Paul Curley, CFA
Executive Director
ISS Market Intelligence
paul.curley@issmarketintelligence.com

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

• Vanguard (HTML, PDF), “Saving for a child’s financial future.” Editor’s Take: Thank you Vanguard for creating and sharing this white paper on how families should approach, strategize and execute a financial plan for their children’s future. White paper includes strategies and themes, and provides a comparison between taxable accounts, trusts, IRAs, 529s and Trump Accounts (530A). Read, bookmark and share as I always learn from Vanguard’s whitepapers and so thought to share with the 529 Dash audience as well.
• Federal Reserve, “Household debt balances decreased slightly; credit card delinquency transition rates remained steady.” Editor’s Take: As of Q2 2026, families held $1.651 trillion in student loan debt with 7.83% of that flowing into serious delinquency as defined as 90 days or more delinquent. Student loans currently rank third for households behind mortgages and card loans and ahead of credit card debt, HELOC and other forms of debt. 529 product providers and distributors should note that the importance of education financial planning continues to rise and increasingly a core part of the holistic financial planning for families.
• Harvard Business School, “How credit card rewards became a $9.2 billion wealth transfer.” Editor’s Take: Some credit cards provide families with rewards in the form of contributions to 529s. Some families starting out on their education financial planning journey say they don’t have room in their budget for contributing to a 529s, but are open to the concept of funding their 529 with credit card reward points. For those curious on who is paying for those 529 contributions, this article provides an answer to that question. Therefore, read, bookmark and grow your knowledge base.
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management, “Building financial grit: how to help savers grow, persist, and progress.” Editor’s Take: Though the whitepaper focuses on the importance and impact of grit for families planning and executing a retirement financial plan, the key themes can be applied to education financial planning as well. Thank you Goldman Sachs for creating and sharing this whitepaper. 
• 529 Insiders, “2Q 2026 529 & ABLE market sizing highlights.” Editor’s Take: Over 18 million 529 accounts and over a quarter of a million ABLE accounts were open and funded as of June 30, 2026. Learn more about the current 529 and ABLE market sizing, market data trends and more by clicking the article, reading, and sharing today.

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