Issue 339

529 Dash, Required Reading for Your 529 Education:
The goal of the 529 Dash is to help institutions and financial professionals who help families and employers in the education financial planning process by creating and sharing industry relevant news, product training, market data and best practices, while also building awareness and understanding of the importance of 529 plans and ABLE accounts.

Please Read, Engage and Share.

Paul Curley, CFA
Associate Director
529 & ABLE Solutions, ISS Market Intelligence
paul.curley@issmarketintelligence.com
Twitter: @PaulCurleyBC

529 News & Research

Here is what you need to know from stories, research, and data released this week:

Ascensus, “Ascensus 529 participants surpass $1 billion in direct tuition payments to schools.” Editor’s Take: Congrats and thank you to Ascensus for improving the ease of use of 529s for millions of families. For example, the digital payments platform by Ascensus has made over $1.1 billion in payments directly to colleges and universities to date since implementing the enhancement in February 2022. Furthermore, there has been a 140% increase in utilization of the capability on a year-over-year basis. Enhancements like this help millions of families in the education financial planning process, and will encourage the next wave of families to use 529s going forward as well. Even more, the direct payment feature will be rolled out to its mobile app of READYSAVE 529 in the near future, accelerating the feature’s success. Read the press release here, and check out the app today at the Apple Store and Google Play.
CollegeAdvantage, “Saving for College.” Editor’s Take: On November 2 from 1pm-2pm, Mark Smith of Fifth Third Bank is hosting a webinar with CollegeAdvantage to discuss the best strategies to effectively save and pay for the future cost of education. Register today.
ChooseFI, “Preparing for the cost of college | Brian Eufiner | Ep 460.” Editor’s Take: This podcast provides an overview of the overall college planning process covering a range of topics going from merit aid, standardized tests, cutting the cost of college, financial aid and non-academic paths to savings. Listen to this podcast on a number of platforms to get up to speed on trending topics, learn new perspectives, and more.
529 Insiders, “2Q 2023 529 market sizing highlights.” Editor’s Take: What was the 529 market sizing as of 2Q 2023 (June 30, 2023)? Click the link to learn more.

ABLE News & Research

Here is what you need to know from stories, research, and data released this week:

New Hampshire Treasury Department, “The NH ABLE Plan Launches as the State of New Hampshire and the National ABLE Alliance Partnership Begins.” Editor’s Take: Congrats on the launch of the new plan and partnership. Read the press release by New Hampshire here , the FAQ document by New Hampshire here, and the press release by Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs representing the Nation ABLE Alliance here. Also, you can visit the website for the new plan here. Also as a result, the list of Open ABLE programs has been updated here.
NDSC (National Down Syndrome Congress), “NDSC thanks outgoing policy and advisory director, Cyrus Huncharek, and welcomes interim policy director Heather Sachs.” Editor’s Take: Press release distributed about the transition by NDSC. Cyrus Huncharek presented at the ABLE Summit 2023 by ISS Market Intelligence as noted in the video here, and we provide him the best of luck in his new ventures. Read the press release to learn more, and thank you NDSC and Cyrus for your collaboration and support in 2023.
ABLE Today (YouTube), “ABLE Accounts: A new tool to support people with disabilities.” Editor’s Take: Sara Hart Weir of ABLE Today and Andrew Aragon of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) teamed up with several other speakers to provide an overview and introduction to ABLE accounts for HR professionals, employers and senior executives. Watch, learn and share, and thank you ABLE Today and SHRM for raising awareness and understanding of ABLE Accounts.
529 Insiders, “2Q 2023 ABLE market sizing highlights.” Editor’s Take: What was the ABLE market sizing as of 2Q 2023 (June 30, 2023)? Click the link to learn more.