I posted last week about instability in the state of Texas’ pre-paid tuition plan. But it isn’t only Texans who have to worry about tax-deferred savings plans for college. As last year’s financial crash has proven, planning on high returns from market-invested college funds is far from a sure thing. With the volatile market continuing to batter college savings plans, a number of savings & loans have begun rolling out incentives to save the “old fashioned way”, according to USA Today. The article points to a number of examples, including a $1,000 bonus that Citizens Bank is offering to those who open a college savings account before their child turns six. It’s a sweet deal: If customers deposit at least $25 per month every year, then the $1,000 bon...

Consumer Reports recently published its May edition of Consumer Reports Money in which it ranked the 88 different 529 College Savings Plans. If you aren’t familiar with College Savings Plans, I recently reviewed them in our “Best Ways to Save for College” series — check it out here. Or you can read a more in-depth analysis of 529 Plans in our section on College Savings. While the past year was abysmal, at best, for mutual funds, there were still a few super stars — and a few super flops — among the 529 Plans, according to Consumer Reports. The magazine compared the plans based on three factors: investment flexibility, low expenses and fees, and 2008 performance. They also looked for plans that were appropriately tracked to decrease the level of investm...

January 24, 2006 The Coverdell Education Savings: This type of college savings plan can be applied to more than college. A Coverdell Education Savings Account can be used as savings for elementary through high school education as well as college. Parents or students may contribute up to $2,000 a year tax-free. A few stipulations are that single parents may not earn more than $110,000 and parents filing joint taxes cannot have their adjusted income be more than $220,000. Any balance unused can be transferred to a sibling or another family member without penalty. As long as the money is used for education purposes (tuition, books, fees etc.) the money will not be taxed. The Hope and Lifetime Earning Credits can be used in the same year by the beneficiary of the Coverdell account as long ...