Washington 529 College Savings Plan
About: GET is Washington state’s 529 prepaid college tuition program. It is governed by federal IRS rules and Washington State law (RCW 28B.95). With GET, you save money by prepaying part or all of your child’s college tuition costs now, to avoid paying higher costs in the future.
The State of Washington guarantees that the value of your account will keep pace with the cost of resident undergraduate tuition and state-mandated fees at the most expensive public university in Washington (typically the University of Washington or Washington State University). Although the value of your account is determined by tuition costs at UW or WSU, you can use your account nationwide at practically any public or private college, university or vocational school, and the monetary value remains the same.
Website: http://www.get.wa.gov/
Phone #: 1-800-955-2318
Investment Options: The GET Program has historically provided that each unit acquired in the program is worth 1% of the resident undergraduate tuition at the highest-priced Washington state public university and may be redeemed at any eligible educational institution in the country.
Based on the passage of the state’s College Affordability Act, effective September 2, 2015, the payout value for the GET program will remain at $117.82 per unit until the time when one year of resident undergraduate tuition and state-mandated fees at Washington State’s highest priced public university surpasses $11,782.
Account owners who wish to withdraw from the program will receive a refund of their contribution or the payout value, whichever is greater. Refund fees and the two-year hold requirement will be waived. The program will also refund the amortization fee paid by account owners who have unredeemed units at a purchase price of $163 or greater.
Tax Benefits: State tax deduction or credit for contributions is not applicable because Washington does not have a personal income tax.
State Residency Requirements: The account owner or the beneficiary must be a Washington resident at the time of program enrollment.
Saving for College with Upromise
Upromise is a service that helps individuals save money to pay for college or to pay down existing student loan debt.
Upromise is a great way to save through partnerships with retailers. Similar to a cash back rewards card, this plan puts rewards from retailers into an account that you can use to save money for school or paying down current Sallie Mae serviced student loans.
Once you join Upromise, you simply have to shop at eligible retailers. You can shop online and get anywhere from 1$ 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