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New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan
New York
The team of Upromise Investments and The Vanguard Group manages New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan. It features age-based and static portfolio options utilizing Vanguard mutual funds. Accounts can be linked to the Upromise rewards service.
5-Cap Rating
| Resident: |  |
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| Non-Resident: |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.85 | 4.68 | 3.20 | 4.50 | 0.40 |
Start saving today
Access enrollment materials and open an account with New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan in just a few easy steps.
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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. If there is no tax break offered for in-state investors ... shop around!
Also, 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.
Program type:
Savings
Telephone:
1-877-697-2837
Web site:
How to enroll:
Enroll directly with the program.
Initial year of operation:
1998, but substantially changed in November 2003
State agency(ies):
Office of the State Comptroller and the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation
Program manager:
Upromise Investments, Inc.
Program distributor:
Vanguard Marketing Corporation
Manager contract term:
Premium subscription required for this data.
Eligibility
State residency requirements:
None
Who can be a participant/owner in the program?
U.S. citizens and resident aliens including minors, UGMA/UTMA custodians, and legal entities.
Significant time or age restrictions imposed by the program:
None
Contributions
Maximum contributions:
Accepts contributions until all account balances in New York's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $375,000.
Minimum contributions:
$25, or $15 per pay period via payroll deduction.
Investment Options
Age-based investment options:
The Age-Based Option offers a choice among 3 different risk levels (Aggressive, Moderate, or Conservative) each containing 5 portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the selected risk level and beneficiary’s age, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.
Static investment options:
Select among 4 multi-fund portfolios (Growth, Moderate Growth, Conservative Growth, and Income), 8 individual index-fund portfolios, and the Interest Accumulation portfolio.
Underlying investments:
Vanguard mutual funds.
Underlying fund allocations:
Premium subscription required for this data.
Investment performance link:
Premium subscription required for this data.
Portfolio Fees & Performance Lookup
Premium subscription required for this data.
Fees & Expenses
Enrollment or application fee:
None.
Account maintenance fee:
None.
Program management fees:
0.17% manager fee; fee includes underlying fund expenses.
Expenses of the underlying investments:
Not applicable, included in the program management fee.
Total asset-based expense ratio:
0.17%
Taxes and other Benefits
Program match on contributions:
None.
State tax deduction or credit for contributions:
Contributions to a New York 529 plan of up to $5,000 per year by an individual, and up to $10,000 per year by a married couple filing jointly, are deductible in computing New York taxable income. Only contributions made by the account owner, or if filing jointly, by the account owner's spouse, are deductible. Contribution deadline is December 31 postmark.
Value of in-state tax benefits:
Premium subscription required for this data.
State tax recapture provisions:
The principal portion of rollovers and nonqualified withdrawals from this plan are subject to New York tax to the extent of prior New York tax deductions, but only after removal of non-deducted contributions. A rollover for this purpose does not include a trustee-to-trustee transfer between two different accounts in New York's 529 plan.
State tax treatment of qualified distributions:
Qualified distributions from New York and non-New York 529 plans (via conformity to the federal tax exclusion) are exempt.
State tax treatment of rollovers:
New York follows tax-free treatment for rollovers except that, according to a New York State Dept. of Taxation and Finance interpretation, a rollover out of a New York 529 plan is treated as a nonqualified withdrawal. A direct trustee-to-trustee rollover between two New York 529 accounts is not treated as a nonqualified withdrawal for this purpose.
Does the sponsoring state exclude the value of an account for state financial aid purposes?
Yes
Does participation in the program provide beneficiaries with any advantages in qualifying for resident tuition status at state institutions?
No
Does the program have a formal agreement with a rewards program or outside scholarship program?
Yes, with the Upromise rewards service.
Statutory protection of an account from creditors:
Premium subscription required for this data.
Distributions & Terminations
To whom are distributions made payable:
Choice of account owner, beneficiary, or eligible educational institution; if the institution, then the withdrawal amount is first directed to the NY Higher Education Services Corp. and then paid to the institution from HESC.
Account Changes
Policy regarding participant/owner changes:
Account ownership may not be transferred prior to the owner's death without a court order.
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:
Premium subscription required for this data.
Plan News
- New York's College Savings Program - Direct Plan signs new contract, reduces fees (05/07/2012)
- New York's College Savings Program - Direct Plan reduces fees (08/30/2010)
State News
- New York 529 decides to keep Upromise/Vanguard, add JPMorgan (07/07/2011)
- New York issues RFP for 529 program manager (12/22/2010)
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