Which 529 plan are you using?

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A440
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Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by A440 »

Just curious to know which state's 529 plans Bogleheads are using.

Here in NJ, our plans aren't the greatest, so we chose Iowa 529 because of the low fees (26 basis points), investment choices, and Vanguard management.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.
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Cernel
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Cernel »

Living in NY, I use the NYS-529 plan since I get an annual up to $5K ($10K for MFJ) reduction on NYState taxable income. Plus the plan is managed by Vanguard.
slick_dealer_05
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by slick_dealer_05 »

We live in Texas and use Wisconsin, Utah, and NY (1/3rd in each)
zadie
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by zadie »

IL at the time it was a highly rated plan
rkhusky
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by rkhusky »

Home state because of the tax deduction.
veggivet
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by veggivet »

Another New York 529 plan enrollee here, with five accounts. Very happy with expense ratio and investment options.
erdoc0919
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by erdoc0919 »

http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money ... ntry-Dahle

There is a chart mid way down the article showing which plan you should use based on where you live. Typically Utah (which I use) is the best. I live in PA.
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Utah and Ohio. NYS for my nieces and nephews.
As with most things dysfunctional in NJ, their 529 Plan should be renamed NJ Worst instead of NJ Best.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
gwrvmd
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by gwrvmd »

Vanguard has the primary fund options in the NY, Utah and Nevada plans. All 3 are good
Vanguard sells the Nevada Plan as "their own" plan; in the small print it is the Nevada plan
The law that set up 529 plans only allows them to be sold by states not directly by investment companies.......Gordon
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kksmom
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by kksmom »

erdoc0919 wrote:http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money ... ntry-Dahle

There is a chart mid way down the article showing which plan you should use based on where you live. Typically Utah (which I use) is the best. I live in PA.

great table, thanks
Bmac
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Bmac »

deleted
Last edited by Bmac on Sat Feb 08, 2020 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Luke
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Luke »

erdoc0919 wrote:http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money ... ntry-Dahle

There is a chart mid way down the article showing which plan you should use based on where you live. Typically Utah (which I use) is the best. I live in PA.
I have a hard time trusting this article. But maybe it's just out of date. My state (MT) should not max in state and then use Utah. The in state fees are high (0.8+) and there is no benefit. You can get a state tax deduction for any state's 529. I chose NY because the 0.16% fees and I was able to put in the allocation I wanted. Utah was 0.24% for a similar allocation. Nevada was also higher even with age based (which I didn't want) and the minimum was more than I wanted to do right away. But all three of them look great. It's just NY matched what I wanted at lower fees.
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

gwrvmd wrote:Vanguard has the primary fund options in the NY, Utah and Nevada plans. All 3 are good
Vanguard sells the Nevada Plan as "their own" plan; in the small print it is the Nevada plan
The law that set up 529 plans only allows them to be sold by states not directly by investment companies.......Gordon
FYI - NYS's first mutual fund provider was TIAA-CREF and performance was not that great. The move to Vanguard was definitely instrumental in making the plan one of the best from a middle of the pack selection.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
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JamesSFO
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by JamesSFO »

CA resident, no tax deduction (yet!, though there are proposals), use the CA plan with TIAA-CREF, the index offerings are as low/lower than even NY state and there are no fees. I would say you cannot go wrong with NY, UT, or CA plans.
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archbish99
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by archbish99 »

Luke wrote:You can get a state tax deduction for any state's 529.
True in MT as of 2013, and a few other states, but not many.

We went Nevada; fees nearly as low, can manage through my Vanguard login, and works smoothly with UPromise.
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jmpath
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by jmpath »

I live in PA so we get the tax advantage regardless of which plan we use. I use the Vanguard 529 (Nevada). Just easiest for me.
wfrobinette
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by wfrobinette »

erdoc0919 wrote:http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money ... ntry-Dahle

There is a chart mid way down the article showing which plan you should use based on where you live. Typically Utah (which I use) is the best. I live in PA.

Why did you skip the PA529 investment plan? I'm curious to see if I am missing anything.

The plan uses vanguard funds and has a fairly low ER of 0.39%

PLUS

State tax deduction. You can deduct your contributions from your Pennsylvania taxable income up to $14,000 per beneficiary per year. Married couples can deduct up to $28,000 per beneficiary per year, provided each spouse has taxable income of at least $14,000.

I don't know about you but the offset in the tax break more than makes up for the higher ER.
texasdiver
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by texasdiver »

Live in Texas
Use the Vanguard Nevada plan. At the time I opened it they were tied with Utah for lowest fees. Don't know if that is still the case. I don't have such massive account balances that it makes much difference. I like being able to see the 529 plan balances on my Vanguard account web page.
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Raymond
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Raymond »

Live in Texas, use the Utah 529.

The Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan was a good choice, but is no longer open to enrollment :(
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Matt48Ritchie
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Matt48Ritchie »

wfrobinette wrote:
erdoc0919 wrote:http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money ... ntry-Dahle

There is a chart mid way down the article showing which plan you should use based on where you live. Typically Utah (which I use) is the best. I live in PA.

Why did you skip the PA529 investment plan? I'm curious to see if I am missing anything.

The plan uses vanguard funds and has a fairly low ER of 0.39%

PLUS

State tax deduction. You can deduct your contributions from your Pennsylvania taxable income up to $14,000 per beneficiary per year. Married couples can deduct up to $28,000 per beneficiary per year, provided each spouse has taxable income of at least $14,000.

I don't know about you but the offset in the tax break more than makes up for the higher ER.
The post directly above yours says that you can get the tax advantage regardless of which plan you use. I have no experience with this but just thought I'd point that out for you.
gwrvmd
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by gwrvmd »

wfrobinette:
The state tax break is once, the ER goes on for up to 18 years......Gordon
Disciple of John Neff
letsgobobby
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by letsgobobby »

there are many good ones. NY, NV, UT, CA, and others. Just make sure to pick a direct-sold plan, not advisor-sold.
slowbutsteady
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by slowbutsteady »

Like many responses, I use my state's. State tax break appeal; offsets part of the ~0.3% all-up cost
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jackholloway
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by jackholloway »

In CA so no deduction. I picked the CO stable value fund for the lion's share, and the Vanguard plan in NV for the remainder.
inbox788
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by inbox788 »

I was going to go with Vanguard funds at NY, Utah, or Ohio, but found a couple of good index funds at California Scholarshare. Other funds not so good with fees, so see if you can live with the limited best choices. (i.e. EF 0.12-0.2 for passive funds like Index U.S. Equity Investment Portfolio 0.05% 0.07% 0.00% 0.12%)


https://www.scholarshare.com/invest/fee ... nses.shtml
http://www.savingforcollege.com/529_fee_study/index.php
Last edited by inbox788 on Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dad2000
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by dad2000 »

Vanguard Nevada
Utah UESP (for a few DFA funds)
I don't live in either state.
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powermega
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by powermega »

CO, because I live here and get a reduction of state income tax. It's also a good plan on its own with nice Vanguard investments.
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Saluki31
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Saluki31 »

Utah and Ohio. Chose Ohio mainly for the 10 year 5% cd option a couple of years ago.
NYGiantsFan
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by NYGiantsFan »

Nebraska NEST with static plan.
Growth plan contains Vanguard
https://www.nest529direct.com/content/1030021.html

Fidelity Massachusetts plan for 2% credit card cash back - https://www.fidelity.com/cash-managemen ... ress-cards
trueblueky
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by trueblueky »

A440 wrote:Just curious to know which state's 529 plans Bogleheads are using.

Here in NJ, our plans aren't the greatest, so we chose Iowa 529 because of the low fees (26 basis points), investment choices, and Vanguard management.
+1
We lived in Iowa and got the state tax break (top marginal rate is 8.8%, mitigated by deductability of federal tax) for using the Iowa 529.
wfrobinette
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by wfrobinette »

Based upon advice. I moved my assets from the PA529 to the Vanguard 529(nevada) not quite as cheap as Utah but throws me over the into the voyager select benefits.
clutchied
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by clutchied »

Initially Nevada when I lived in CA (no benefit)

Ohio now b/c of the tax deduction but it's also a good fund.
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Kevin M
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Kevin M »

CO Stable Value Plus, earning 3.09% for 2015. Live in CA, so no state tax break, and it is very hard to beat the CO SV fund for safe fixed income. Funds will be used within three years or so, so a safe fund like this is good. If I had known about this choice earlier, I would have used it before I started using it a few years ago.

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livesoft
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by livesoft »

We still have some money in the Ohio direct-sold 529. They announced this month that DFA funds will become available, too.
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jhfenton
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by jhfenton »

Our home state of Ohio. It's a good plan, with a state tax deduction.
SleepKing
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by SleepKing »

jhfenton wrote:Our home state of Ohio. It's a good plan, with a state tax deduction.
Same here
robiu977
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by robiu977 »

We live in GA and use Nevada mainly for simplicity. I like to keep things as simple and consolidated as possible. When I log onto VG, I see my taxable account, Roth (his and hers), rollover 401k (hers), and now the 529 plan. We do not have any children yet so I only have a small amount in her name. The GA tax deduction is $2000 but I believe I've made the right choice for ourselves.
jayjayc
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by jayjayc »

I advised my sister (a NJ resident) to go w/ NY. Great plan as others have mentioned. She can see NY from her window so a move to NY in her future is within reason. Then she can get the tax advantages w/o switching plans.
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SkierMom
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by SkierMom »

archbish99 wrote:
We went Nevada; fees nearly as low, can manage through my Vanguard login, and works smoothly with UPromise.
+1
BUT, at the time (twelve years ago) California's plan was awful.
nycuga
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by nycuga »

GA as I get the $2K tax deduction
FrankTheTank
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by FrankTheTank »

I use Virginia's plan. 2 reasons:
1) It's my home state and I get up to a $4000/yr tax deduction per account.
2) For my fund option I use the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (the Virginia plan obscures things and calls it the "Stock Index" option) with a total expense ratio of 0.19% (.04 for the fund + .15 for administrative fees). That's nearly on-par with the New York plan's expense, but as a VA resident the tax deduction in #1 above put VA's plan over the top.

http://www.virginia529.com/invest/perfo ... /index.php
Sportswhiz00
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Sportswhiz00 »

Illinois for the deduction.
BogleBoogie
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by BogleBoogie »

Vanguard, Nevada. I live in CA.
BicycleLover
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by BicycleLover »

Vanguard Nevada.
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Go Blue 99
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Go Blue 99 »

GA up to the tax deduction, UT after that.
rakamaka
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by rakamaka »

Many plans, especially run predominantly by Vanguard, UT, IA, NY, Co, OH etc are very good with expense ratio.
I use UT 529 plan. Standard VG funds. Nothing fancy.
Where UT shines is online management of accounts, online transfers between kids accounts, EFT, withdrawals etc.
Extremely efficient compared to other VG plans in IA, MO, NY etc.
jj
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by jj »

Illinois' Direct sold "Bright Start" plan - Vanguard index options with low expense ratios (0.19 to 0.21 mostly). Do make sure to avoid the Oppenheimer funds.
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negreenfield
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by negreenfield »

Georgia. Just had another child in 2014 so I now have 3 to try and contribute to. Probably won't max out the $2k per child this year, $1k per child most likely.
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Peter Foley
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by Peter Foley »

My grandson's plan is NY, based on my advice to my daughter. MN has relatively poor plans and there is no tax deduction. New York, Nevada and Utah all looked good to me. I preferred the investment options in the NY plan.
deadlymonkey
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Re: Which 529 plan are you using?

Post by deadlymonkey »

PA resident but military so I dont pay state taxes. Won't maintain PA residency after I retire and not sure where I will end up. Invested in Vanguard Nevada plan since it was easiest since my other accounts are at Vanguard.
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