PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan
About: The PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan lets you save for tomorrow’s college expenses at today’s plan rates – without worrying about the ups and downs of the stock market. If you save enough for a semester at one of the state universities today, you’ll have enough for a semester at that school in the future – no matter when or how much tuition has gone up in the meantime.
The Pennsylvania Treasury Department does the investing work for you, placing money in the GSP Fund, a separate fund established for the PA 529 GSP by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Website: http://www.pa529.com/
Phone #: 1-800-440-4000
Investment Options: In the Pennsylvania 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan, Pennsylvania residents acquire units that increase in value over time to track average tuition increases in one of several school categories as selected by the participant. The ability to switch categories retroactively makes this a flexible option to lock in tuition no matter which particular college the beneficiary attends.
Tax Benefits: Contributions to Pennsylvania AND non-Pennsylvania 529 plans of up to the gift-tax annual exclusion amount ($14,000 in 2016) per beneficiary are deductible in computing Pennsylvania taxable income. Spouses filing jointly must each have at least $14,000 in income to claim the maximum $28,000 per-beneficiary deduction. Rollovers from another 529 plan or from qualified U.S. savings bonds are not eligible for the deduction.
State Residency Requirements: The account owner or beneficiary must be a Pennsylvania resident at the time of program enrollment.
Saving for College with Upromise
Upromise
is a service that helps individuals save money to pay for college or to pay down existing student loan debt.
Upromise is a great way to save through partnerships with retailers. Similar to a cash back rewards card, this plan puts rewards from retailers into an account that you can use to save money for school or paying down current Sallie Mae serviced student loans.
Once you join Upromise, you simply have to shop at eligible retailers. You can shop online and get anywhere from 1$ to 25% back that is credited to your account. There are more than 600 online retailers, including Target and more, which will give you rewards that can be used for college and tuition expenses.
The beauty of the Upromise program is that you save money for college by simply shopping at the normal stores you visit every day. Upromise was created in partnership with Sallie Mae and is designed to help save for education costs.
Upromise.com is the smart way to save for your child’s college education