New College Savings Initiative Aims to Advance College Success for All Families

The New America Foundation and Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis recently announced a new College Savings Initiative to examine and improve 529 college savings plans so more people have the opportunity to attend and complete college.

State-sponsored 529 college savings plans were established to encourage families to save money for postsecondary education. Money earned from contributions to these plans grows free from federal and state taxes. In most states, contributions are also tax deductible.

Unfortunately, 529s have yet to reach their full potential for low- and moderate-income families who have the most difficulty saving for their children's education. The College Savings Initiative will examine a number of new ideas including how 529s might connect to federal tax and student aid policies. The initiative will also study the potential to automatically open a 529 for every child when they enroll in kindergarten, to enable them to save and think about college from an early age.

The College Savings Initiative is a joint initiative of the Asset Building and Education Policy Programs of the New America Foundation and the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis. It is funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information on the College Savings Initiative, please visit http://collegesavingsinitiative.org

This article originally ran in the IDAresources.org Update Newsletter on 06/18/09 and is available for archival purposes.
For updated information on asset building and the AFI program, please see www.IDAresources.org.