A super calculator for 529 superfunding

http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/a-super-calculator-for-529-superfunding-666

Financial Professional Content

I've written before that grandparents and 529 plans were made for each other. Now we're seeing survey results suggesting that more grandparents are finally getting into the 529 game.

Legg Mason's recent survey of grandparents found that only 10% of grandparents who saved used 529 plans for their own children's college education, but that 40% of grandparents now saving use 529 plans for their grandchildren's college education. A third of respondents with $200K+ in household income planned to pay about half of their grandchildren's expenses, compared with 6% of those with less than $100K household income.

Fidelity Investments saw a 12% increase in contributions to its 529 plans from grandparents in the first four months of 2014 compared with the same period a year ago. And Fidelity's 2014 Grandparents and College Savings Study found that 35% of those grandparents intending to help cover college costs expected to contribute more than $50,000. Fifty-two percent of grandparents were familiar with 529 plans.

When grandparents commit to 529 plans, their contributions tend to be large and often become an integral component of their estate planning. The 5-year election, which I wrote about last month, becomes a key planning strategy. Unfortunately, the 5-year election can be a bit confusing and complicated. And so I'm very happy to announce Savingforcollege.com's newest online tool—the 529 Superfunding Calculator—that can help you guide your client in making the most effective use of the 5-year election.

The 529 Superfunding Calculator spells out the accumulation benefits of superfunding as well as the potential estate tax and income tax savings. It takes into account the client's marital status and other non-529 gifts made during the year, and provides guidance on making maximum use of the gift-tax annual exclusion.

It is a flexible tool that will answer many of the most-asked questions we receive from financial professionals.

The 529 Superfunding Calculator is made available to our premium subscribers and to financial advisors working for firms that utilize our custom portals. Check with your broker-dealer home office if you are not sure if our custom 529 portal has been purchased.

If you are a premium subscriber, you will see a demo of the tool on next week's quarterly webinar and you will have the opportunity to ask questions.

The premium subscription can be purchased for only $19 for one month ($149 for a one-year subscription). Here are the many upgrades you have access to as a premium subscriber, and a lot more is on the way (so stay tuned).