Missouri 529 plan

Missouri 529 Plan:


 * Open to Residents
 * Open to non-residents

Program match on contributions: None

State tax deduction or credit for contributions: Contributions to any Missouri or non-Missouri 529 plan of up to $8,000 per year ($16,000 per year for a married couple filing jointly) are deductible in computing Missouri taxable income. Only contributions made by the account owner are deductible, except for spouses filing a joint return. Rollover contributions are not deductible. Contribution deadline is December 31 postmark.

Age-based investment options: The Age-Based option is offered in three different risk levels (Aggressive, Moderate, and Conservative) each containing five portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the risk level selected and the number of years to expected enrollment, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.

State tax recapture provisions:

The principal portion of rollovers and nonqualified withdrawals from this plan are included in Missouri taxable income to the extent of prior Missouri tax deductions. A rollover that is a not a direct trustee-to-trustee rollover is considered a nonqualified withdrawal for Missouri tax purposes.

Static investment options: Select among 8 multi-fund portfolios and 7 individual-fund portfolios. The Guaranteed Option managed by TIAA-CREF is retained for existing investments until June 2010.

Single Portfolios- The ER for all portfolios is 0.62%

Expenses: 0.62% - 1.51%


 * Direct link to 529 Plan site
 * Plan document

Links

 * Morningstar Overview
 * State Creditor Protections for 529 Plans

Note
[1]The Portfolio directs all of its assets into Vanguard Short-Term Reserves Account, through which the Portfolio owns funding agreements issued by one or more insurance companies, synthetic investment contracts (SICs), and shares of Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund. Funding agreements and synthetic investment contracts are interest-bearing contracts that are structured to preserve principal and accumulate interest earnings over the life of the investment. Funding agreements generally pay interest at a fixed interest rate and have fixed maturity dates that normally range from 2 to 5 years. Synthetic investment contracts pay a variable interest rate and have an average duration range between 2 and 5 years. Investments in either new funding agreements or synthetic investment contracts are based upon available liquidity in the Portfolio, and the competitiveness of offered yields, based on market conditions and trends. The Short-Term Reserves Account also purchases shares of the Prime Money Market Fund to meet normal liquidity needs.

The total amount invested in the Prime Money Market Fund is expected to range between 0% and 25%. The Prime Money Market Fund invests in high-quality, short-term money market instruments, including certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, commercial paper, and other money market securities. To be considered high-quality, a security generally must be rated in one of the two highest credit-quality categories for short-term securities by at least two nationally recognized rating services (or by one, if only one rating service has rated the security). If unrated, the security must be determined by Vanguard to be of quality equivalent to those in the two highest credit-quality categories (i.e., Aaa, Aa1, Aa2, or Aa3). The Prime Money Market Fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in securities issued by companies in the financial services industry and will maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 90 days or less.

The performance of the Interest Accumulation Portfolio will reflect the blended earnings of the funding agreements, synthetic investment contracts, and Prime Money Market Fund shares held by the Portfolio (minus the Portfolio's expenses). The Portfolio's target duration is expected to range between 1.5 and 3.5 years.

The Portfolio has a longer average maturity than money market funds, which should result in higher yields when interest rates are stable or declining. However, because only a portion of the Portfolio's investment matures each year, its yield will change more slowly than that of a money market fund. As a result, when interest rates are rising, the Portfolio's yield may fail below money market funds' yields for an extended time period.

[Source; https://missourimost.s.upromise.com/motpl/fundperform/fundPerformance.do?fid=030]