[INFOGRAPHIC] Top Misconceptions About College Savings: Do You Know the Answers?

http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/infographic-top-misconceptions-about-college-savings-do-you-know-the-answers-790

This year's College Savings Survey once again revealed that while 55% of American families prefer using a 529 plan to save for college, many are still confused about how they work. Grandparents are generally more knowledgeable about 529 plan rules than parents, especially regarding what happens to the funds saved if the child doesn't go to college. In fact, 18 percent of parents believe that if their child doesn't go to college they will lose all of the money they saved in a 529 plan, but only 10 percent of grandparents believe this to be true.

Yet even though they may understand 529 plans better, more grandparents (39%) were likely to have enlisted the help of a financial advisor to help choose a plan than parents (26%). The main reasons families don't want to work with an advisor is because they are concerned about paying commissions and fees. But when families who aren't currently saving for college were asked why they haven't started yet, 49 percent claimed it was because they haven't had time to research and/or understand their options.

Read the full College Savings Survey Report