529/College Planning

It is easier to give stock than cash as a gift, and there are benefits for you.

Confused about whether your student loans will be forgiven? Everyone is.

There are two types of tax-advantaged accounts for saving for college expenses: A Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) account and a 529 Plan. While both plans have their differences and advantages, consider both as viable options.

The US Supreme Court expanded a planned showdown over President Joe Biden’s student-loan relief plan, saying it will hear arguments from two borrowers who contend they are being unfairly excluded from the full scope of the program.

One thing to consider when opening a 529 plan is whether it should be a custodial or individual account. While both allow you to save for college costs and enjoy some tax breaks, they differ in terms of who has control of the account and the assets in it.

All states and Washington, D.C. sponsor at least one 529 college savings plan. Some states provide additional tax benefits by letting you make tax-deductible contributions up to certain limits.

We’ve broken down nine of the best 529 plans.

The Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan remains stalled, after the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift an order blocking the sweeping program.

President Joe Biden has often described his plan to cancel some federal student-loan debts as a “game changer.” In one sense, this policy has indeed proved transformative — by making a bad system worse.

For student loan borrowers, President Joe Biden’s forgiveness plan seemed too good to be true. And now they fear that maybe it was.

A federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, calling it “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”

Are you just an educator or can you motivate prospects to implement your ideas?

Some 16 million applications for student debt relief will be approved by this week, provided the White House plan survives court challenges, President Joe Biden said Thursday.

Some student loan borrowers are starting to receive refund checks from the government, even as President Joe Biden’s forgiveness plan is tied up in court.

Depending on where they live, student borrowers may soon face an unexpected tax burden.

Every year, the IRS offers taxpayers a polite warning in the form of what it calls the “dirty dozen” – 12 of the latest tax-related scams. We introduce “the permissible dozen” – the 12 easiest ways to reduce federal income taxes – legitimately, of course.

Clients often assume that their need for life insurance ends when they stop working. I spoke with Neil Drzewiecki, the head of life products for MassMutual Life Insurance Company, about how whole-life insurance can play an important role in your client's retirement income strategy.

To President Joe Biden’s credit, his policies didn’t cause many of the economic problems we face today.

President Joe Biden said 8 million Americans had already applied for “life-changing relief,” as he formally launched the application for loan borrowers to seek forgiveness on their student debt.

As student borrowers get set to apply for federal loan forgiveness, some of them are also considering for the first time homeownership and other major milestones as they embark on new lives without the specter of debt hanging over them.

The Biden administration on Thursday reversed course on part of its student debt forgiveness plan and will no longer forgive privately held federal student loans, according to an update to a Department of Education fact sheet.

Unlike with 401(k) plans and other retirement savings accounts, the IRS does not set annual contribution limits for 529 college savings plans. Instead, the states that sponsor individual 529 plans set parameters for the life of the plan.

Amid the stir caused by President Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts, far too little attention has been paid to another far-reaching reform: the administration’s change to a lending program known as income-driven repayment (or IDR). If widely applied, Biden’s proposal would provide additional relief to millions of borrowers...

Is a 529 plan the right option for your clients? Do you have questions on 529 plans your clients already started? We’ve selected several articles to help answer those questions and learn more.

Millennials are self-centered and allergic to commitment. They switch jobs every six months and will never buy homes. And don’t get them started on marriage and kids.

Individual impact aside, Biden’s student loan forgiveness will harm the U.S. currency and economy. Here’s how I see it as a value investor.

The Biden administration's announcement that qualifying borrowers can receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness on federally held student loans first elicited cheers from many of the 43 million Americans eligible to have their debt wiped. Then came a barrage of questions.

Sell stocks and buy opportunistic bonds, according to Jeffrey Gundlach. “The capital gains potential is the best in the last 15 years," he said. Bonds are “the place to be.”

President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loans for qualified borrowers could help score him points with progressives and young voters while fulfilling a promise he made when running for office.

Some of the best-known rules of thumb in personal finance have outlived their usefulness.

Debate has swirled over President Joe Biden’s student loan-forgiveness plan, but there has been relatively little consideration of some of its longer-run ramifications.

If there’s anything fans and foes of President Joe Biden’s student loan-forgiveness initiative can agree on, it’s that it doesn’t do anything to address the real issue: the ever-rising cost of college and attendant accumulation of debt.

With Wednesday’s long-awaited announcement forgiving the debts of certain student borrowers, President Joe Biden hopes to give Democrats a boost in this fall’s midterm elections.

Since the income cutoffs for different tax rates weren’t periodically adjusted for inflation, millions of Americans paid higher rates while their real incomes stayed the same.

If there’s one thing the impending back-to-school season makes clear, it’s that the cost of higher education in the US is nerve-racking.

Anxious Americans with student loans are tired of waiting for action from President Joe Biden and taking matters into their own hands.

After publishing the 50th episode of my podcast, I’ve boiled down countless hours of information into the 10 ideas and insights every advisor needs to know:

Many of my clients or their kids will face repaying student loans. And given the inflationary environment and related rising interest rates, some of them will need to make careful choices about prioritizing their payback plans.

While everyone’s financial journey is different, there are actionable steps advisors can take to empower their female clients’ financial futures and health.

How much does it take to feel flush in the US these days? Not even $250,000 a year will get you there, according to a recent survey by Pymnts.com and LendingClub Corp.

High schoolers and their parents are increasingly questioning whether a traditional four-year college education is the right financial decision, with rising costs often resulting in crippling student-loan debt.

The price of foods, fuels and other essential items are spiraling ever upward as Russia’s war on Ukraine compounds supply-chain woes stemming from the pandemic. Central banks may be in the driving seat when it comes to tackling inflation, but it’s governments that face the fallout and so are compelled to act.

Since President Joe Biden was elected, millions of Americans with student loan debt have waited for him to fulfill a campaign promise of forgiving at least $10,000 per borrower. While Biden recently extended the payment moratorium for the loans until Aug. 31, pressure is mounting on the administration as the midterm elections approach.

As if all that’s going on in the world wasn’t enough to worry about, Bloomberg News reports that young people are seeking mental health treatment to break all-consuming cycles of cryptocurrency trading. Those profiled complained that frantic trading in the hopes of scoring quick riches in a rapidly growing, $2 trillion asset class led them to neglect ordinary life and destroyed their peace of mind.

Viral success stories of people who used the post-pandemic stock market to trade their way out of mountains of student loan debt keep inspiring do-it-yourself investors.

While the lower fees associated with GLWB Lite products make them seem more attractive, the expected income is significantly lower than other annuities.

For years, small accounts have been overcharged and underserved. I’m encouraged, however, by what I see some advisors doing, I wish the rest of the profession were inspired to similarly elevate the value provided for the price charged small clients.

Covid-19, global supply-chain disruptions, frictions in reopening economies worldwide and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are spawning many winners and losers in economies, financial markets and political structures. Six of them are driven by transfers of incomes and assets. Five more are fundamentally the result of repricing goods and assets that I’ll cover in a separate column.

Because 529 plans are exempt from SEC oversight, they can charge higher fees and use that revenue in ways that do not benefit plan participants. New research shows some states are guilty of this abuse.

Federal student loan borrowers have been granted another reprieve, but for those who can afford it, the most prudent thing to do is to just fork over the money. Almost everyone has been taking advantage of the moratorium, which allows borrowers to press the pause button on payments without any interest accruing. Just 500,000 borrowers out of 43 million, or 1.1%, were still making payments a year after the freeze was initiated in March 2020 as part of pandemic relief efforts.

Most Americans say the most important problem facing the country is inflation — and President Joe Biden just made it worse. His administration announced last week it would extend yet again the emergency suspension of student loan repayments, even as his frenemies on the left are urging a program of complete forgiveness of all student debt.

I’m one of the 45 million foreign-born individuals who now call the U.S. home. I knew enough about budgeting, but struggled with financial decisions from day one, as this was a completely new system to me.

An important part of tax planning is medical expenses, which add up quickly. Your clients (including spouses and dependents) will have medical expenses throughout the year, and hanging onto those receipts could save them money this year.

New data on consumer preferences and behaviors during COVID shows that the advisory firms face daunting challenges with respect to staffing, differentiation and – if they are private-equity backed – financing and maintaining profitability.

U.S. lenders issued more credit cards than ever last year, with a growing share of them going to consumers with lower credit scores.

A direct financial handout to “Gen C” (the covid generation) for their pandemic woes would set age above other societal inequities that Covid amplified.

While no one knows what 2022 holds in store for investors, my concern is that it should not foster the same optimism as 2021.

Get ready to hear about Americans’ $1.58 trillion of student loans again.

When the pandemic hit last year, young adults moved back in with their parents in a big way. Now the share of 18-to-29-year-olds living with parents and grandparents is back about where it was before Covid-19 arrived.

Free community college was among the first big proposals cut as Democrats battled to get President Joe Biden’s agenda down to size -- yet an analysis says dropping the $109 billion initiative carries a lasting economic cost.

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s premier business schools, plan to accept cryptocurrency as tuition for its online blockchain and digital assets program.

President Joe Biden is attempting to rally fractious Democrats around a whittled-down economic package that his administration is promoting as a monumental achievement for social spending and climate programs.

The job market has changed quite a bit since I graduated in 2011. Even before the pandemic, the business world was aflutter about the rise of the gig economy. Now side hustles and working remotely have become the norm. But what hasn’t changed is the stress and anxiety that comes with entering the workforce.

It’s being called the Great Resignation. Quits are at their highest rate in 20 years and no one seems to understand why. One thing is for sure: the labor market has gone weird.