Plan Today for a Brighter Future Tomorrow

While it’s better when your child is young to start the college investment cycle, it’s never too late to start. No matter the age of your kids, what matters is that you are preparing now. Thinking about these costs is easy to put off hoping your child will obtain scholarships or financial assistance. I don’t always count on them. While these awards help with college tuition, they are not guaranteed, not always comprehensive, and not available to everyone.

Investing for a Younger Child’s Education

When your child is young, time is with you. Since you will have plenty of time, you will be able to spend less money now and let your savings do more of the work for you, thanks to the potential impact of compounding returns.

Investing for an Older Child’s Education

Don’t worry if your child is already in secondary education. While you will need to spend more money within a shorter time span, you will still be able to afford at least a portion of the college costs.
Look carefully at choices that do not require strict contribution caps, because they could be more suitable for you now.
Speak with your child about specific goals, too. What schools is he or she interested in? Is college an option or does your child have a vocational school with his or her sights? Many policies restrict the options of the beneficiary so knowing the desires of your child is crucial.

Which Plan is Right for You?

With several different options available for college savings, it’s important to select the one that suits you. You can be discouraged from optimizing your savings by choosing the wrong plan – or not investing appropriately in the right one. With the assistance of our professional guidance, however, it can be easy to select the right alternative.

Don’t let your family fall apart in the event of your death. Protect them with life insurance.

College Planning Products 

Life Insurance
While the main purpose of life insurance is to pro­vide money to your family after your death, it can also be used to fund higher education expenses. While purchasing a policy for college savings alone is inappropriate, the cash value of your whole or universal policy may be used to pay for such expenses.

529 Savings Plans

These State-sponsored programs provide versatile, tax-friendly ways of saving. 529 Savings plans offer multiple benefits compared with other savings plans.

Although there are many advantages 529 savings plans provide, there are potential disadvantages. Earnings are taxed and subject to a 10% penalty when withdrawn for uses other than qualified education expenses. The portfolio allocations may only allow for changes once per year or upon a change in beneficiary.

529 Prepaid Plans

These plans allow you to purchase a certain percentage of tuition over time that is guaranteed to be equivalent to the same percentage of tuition in the future. We can assist you in determining if a 529 prepaid plan is available in your state.

IRAs

You can withdraw funds from your IRA to pay qualified higher education expenses. While this may seem like a viable savings option, remember that you will be spending your retirement savings. In addition, amounts withdrawn may count as income and affect eligibility for need-based financial aid.
The 10% penalty tax for withdrawals is waived when funds are used for higher education purposes, but the money may still be subject to income taxes.
Typically, if you own a traditional IRA, the full amount will be taxed, while Roth IRAs allow tax-free withdrawals in certain circumstances. Discuss this issue with us to determine if your withdrawal will be subject to taxation.