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Saving For College (savingforcollege.com), the leading 529 education platform, is proud to announce its annual 529 Ratings utilizing a brand-new grading process. This year’s leading direct-sold 529 plan was the Maryland College Investment Plan. Other state’s plans recognized as Top of the Class include offerings from Alaska, West Virginia, California, New Jersey, Georgia, and Kansas.
Since 1999, Saving For College has maintained the most comprehensive set of 529 plan ratings for the important savings vehicle used by millions of U.S. families.
This year’s edition of the Ratings uses a new methodology that reflects the current landscape of 529 technology, investment options, and state-level treatment of recent federal legislation. Changes to the ratings process include:
- Separate ratings for direct-sold and advisor-sold plans
- New categories of criteria, with increased focus on a plan’s ease of use and plan features that can produce positive savings outcomes
- Award levels to recognize top performing plans: Top of the Class, High Honors, and Honors
- A new Resident Benefits score
“As 529 plans evolve to meet the needs of a broader audience, Saving For College plays an essential role in translating financial complexity into actionable financial understanding,” said CEO Jordan Lee. “Our goal is to help families make an informed choice that best supports their educational aspirations.”
Saving For College evaluated plans based on four categories to determine the overall attractiveness of each 529 plan on a five-point scale. Categories include:
- Performance: This category considers the historical investment returns of the plan. The data is derived from proprietary 529 performance rankings, which analyze all age-based and year-of-enrollment portfolios to rank overall plan performance.
- Ease of Use: This category evaluates various metrics related to the ease of opening, maintaining, and using the plan.
- Savings Success: This category measures how well a plan’s features help investors optimize their savings. Category criteria include positive factors such as online gifting or planning tools, as well as savings detractors such as fees.
- Program Delivery: This category measures how well the plan is positioned to perform reliably in the future. Criteria considered include program manager tenure, contract uncertainty, and plan quality tracking, among others.
“The 2024 Saving For College 529 Ratings arrive at a pivotal moment,” shared Scott Morrison, Saving For College’s Head of Product. “Families are now able to use these plans for more than traditional higher education costs – from K12 private school to apprenticeships and most recently tax-free rollovers into Roth IRAs – and 529 programs are working hard to support these uses. Our updated Ratings seek to highlight their progress and surface where more work is still needed.”
Families can view the ratings and compare plans on Saving For College’s website. To see the full list of 2024 529 Ratings, visit: https://www.
