SHORTCUTS

529 Plan Details:

Enter your state:

World's Simplest College Calculator:

How old is your child?

Find a 529 Pro:

Enter your zip code:

Enroll In a 529 Plan:

View a list of participating plans

OPTIONS

529 PLANS

SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan

West Virginia

The West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan, available on a direct basis to those who meet certain West Virginia residency requirements, features a stable value option along with a menu of age-based and static portfolio options utilizing index funds from Vanguard. Accounts can be linked to the Upromise rewards service.

5-Cap Rating

Resident:
Non-Resident:

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
3.35	5.02	4.32	4.20	0.60

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. 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.

Research other state plans
or
Compare between state plans

Program type:

Savings

Telephone:

1-866-574-3542

Web site:

Click here to visit

How to enroll:

Enroll directly with the program.

Initial year of operation:

2002

State agency(ies):

State Treasurer’s Office under the authority of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program Board of Trustees

Program manager:

Hartford Life Insurance Company

Program distributor:

Hartford Investment Financial Services, LLC

Manager contract term:

Premium subscription required for this data.

Eligibility

State residency requirements:

The account owner or designated beneficiary must have a West Virginia mailing address or be a West Virginia resident on active duty in the U.S. armed forces.

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

U.S. citizens and resident aliens at least 18 years old, 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 West Virginia's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $265,620.

Minimum contributions:

With lump-sum contributions, there is no minimum initial or subsequent contribution. With the automatic investment plan, there is no minimum initial contribution but the minimum monthly contribution is $15.

Investment Options

Age-based investment options:

The Age-Based Portfolios option consists of 5 portfolios of underlying mutual funds with varying risk tolerances. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the beneficiary’s age, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.

Static investment options:

Select among 5 multi-fund portfolios (Aggressive Growth, Growth, Balanced, Conservative Balanced, and Conservative Bond), the SMART529 Stable Value portfolio and the SMART529 500 Index Fund.

Underlying investments:

Vanguard index funds, INVESCO stable value.

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:

Ranges from 0.03% to 0.25%, none for Stable Value. State fees are waived for participants in the direct plan.

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Ranges from 0.04% to 0.40%.

Total asset-based expense ratio:

0.29% to 0.40%

Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

Beginning June 15, 2011, the program provides matching grants to eligible West Virginia families in an amount up to $500 per Designated Beneficiary per year, up to a lifetime maximum of $2,500 per Designated Beneficiary, with a dollar for dollar match. Account Owners who are residents of West Virginia are eligible to apply. The Account Owner must meet family income guidelines that are subject to the number of related dependents under the age of 18, e.g., AGI less than or equal to $50,000 with one dependent; AGI less than or equal to $80,000 with four dependents. The Designated Beneficiary must be 12 years old or younger at the time the first Matching Grant application is made and a new application must be submitted each year for each Designated Beneficiary.