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Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) NEW! PDF ReportPRO
South Carolina
The Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan is only available to residents of South Carolina. It offers investment options from Columbia and Vanguard and a $426,000 contribution limit. Residents of South Carolina may enjoy a state tax deduction for contributions to the plan.
5-Cap Rating
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In Savingforcollege.com's latest quarterly rankings, this plan ranked in the top 10 for 1-year, 3-year, 5-year and/or 10-year performance.
Savingforcollege.com's 5-Cap Ratings provides an evaluation and comparison of 529 plans, utilizing a formula that examines dozens of factors grouped into the following categories. (Scale 0 to 5; 5 is highest)
| Performance | Costs | Features | Reliability | Resident Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.26 | 4.96 | 4.74 | 4.18 | 0.50 |
Start saving today
Access enrollment materials and open an account with Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) in just a few easy steps.
General
Did you know?
Residents are not limited to investing in their own state's plan. Another state may offer a plan that performs better and has lower fees.
The plan chosen does not affect which state the student enrolls in. An investor can live in NY, invest in a plan from NV and send a student to college in FL.
The best way to maximize your college savings? Start early and save often. You can get started today with easy online enrollment.
Program type:
Savings
How to enroll:
Enroll directly with the program.Initial year of operation:
2002
State agency(ies):
Office of the State Treasurer
Program manager:
Columbia Management Investment Advisors, LLC
Program distributor:
Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc.
Manager contract term:
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Eligibility
State residency requirements:
The account owner or beneficiary must be a resident of South Carolina, or an employee of the State of South Carolina, at the time of program enrollment.
Who can be a participant/owner in the program?
U.S. citizens and resident aliens and UGMA/UTMA custodians. The Treasurer and Program Manager may permit other persons and legal entities to open accounts; joint ownership by spouses is permitted.
Significant time or age restrictions imposed by the program:
None
Contributions
Maximum contributions:
Accepts contributions until all account balances in South Carolina's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $540,000.
Minimum contributions:
None
Does the program offer an e-gifting platform for receiving gift contributions?
This plan offers an online tool to share a gift contribution link with family and friends.
Investment Options
Age-based/Enrollment Year investment options:
The Age-Based Portfolios option is offered in 3 different risk levels (Aggressive, Moderate, and Conservative) each containing 9 portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the risk level selected and based on the age of the beneficiary, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.
Static investment options:
Select among 7 Target Allocation portfolios (Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative and College), 7 individual-fund index portfolios, a short-term bond fund, a money market fund, and a bank deposit account.
Underlying investments:
Columbia mutual funds, Vanguard funds, iShares, and a BB&T bank deposit account.
Underlying fund allocations:
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Portfolio Fees & Performance Lookup
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See Investment OptionsFees & Expenses
Enrollment or application fee:
None.
Account maintenance fee:
None.
Program management fees:
None
Expenses of the underlying investments:
Ranges from 0.07% to 0.14% (portfolio weighted average) in the aged-based and target allocation portfolios, and from 0.02% to 0.24% in the individual-fund portfolios. None for the Bank Deposit Portfolio.
Total asset-based expense ratio:
0.00% - 0.24%
Taxes and other Benefits
Program match on contributions:
None.
State tax deduction or credit for contributions:
Contributions, including rollover contributions, to a South Carolina 529 plan are fully deductible in computing South Carolina taxable income. Contribution deadline: April 15 of the following year.
State tax recapture provisions:
The principal portion of nonqualified withdrawals from this plan are included in South Carolina taxable income to the extent of prior South Carolina tax deductions. Rollovers apparently are not subject to recapture.
State definition of qualified expenses
The state conforms with the federal definition of qualified education expenses, which includes expenses for higher education, apprenticeship programs, interest and/or principal on qualified education loans up to a $10,000 lifetime cap, and up to $10,000 per year in tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school. Distributions from a 529 account directly to a Roth IRA are considered a qualified expense for state income tax purposes.
State tax treatment of qualified distributions:
Qualified distributions from South Carolina and non-South Carolina 529 plans are exempt.
State tax treatment of rollovers:
South Carolina follows federal tax-free treatment.
Does the sponsoring state exclude the value of an account for state financial aid purposes?
No
Does participation in the program provide beneficiaries with any advantages in qualifying for resident tuition status at state institutions?
No
Is there a rewards program or outside scholarship program that works with this program?
Yes, the Upromise Rewards program can be linked to any 529 college savings plan. Upromise Rewards is free to join and offers members cash back for college.
Statutory protection of an account from creditors:
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Distributions & Terminations
To whom are distributions made payable:
Eligible educational institution, beneficiary, beneficiary and institution jointly, or account owner, as directed by the account owner.
Account Changes
Policy regarding participant/owner changes:
Accepts requests to transfer account ownership.
Documents, Access & Reporting
Does participant have online password-protected access to account?
Yes
Can the complete enrollment process including funding be done online?
Yes
Documents and other services accessible or downloadable on the program's public Web site:
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