Washington RFP responds to questions from bidders
http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/washington-rfp-responds-to-questions-from-bidders-1048
Posted: 2017-04-05
The State of Washington issued an RFP for a new 529 savings plan in October. The state has since responded to questions from bidders. The questions cover topics including marketing strategy and budget, recordkeeping platform requirements, plan fees, and projections. In particular, the question responses include some detailed information on the breakdown of participants in the existing GET plan:
| Guaranteed Education Tuition Prepaid Tuition Plan Data as of March 18, 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary Age Range | Units Purchased to Date | Assets | Accounts | Accts as Percentage | Average Account Size |
| 0-3 | 145,103 | $17,096,035 | 2,911 | 3% | $5,873 |
| 4-8 | 1,932,942 | $227,739,226 | 17,627 | 17% | $12,920 |
| 9-12 | 3,262,049 | $384,334,613 | 21,489 | 21% | $17,885 |
| 13-15 | 3,027,097 | $356,652,569 | 16,787 | 17% | $21,246 |
| 16+ | 6,445,193 | $759,372,639 | 42,323 | 42% | $17,942 |
| TOTAL | 14,812,384 | $1,745,195,082 | 101,137 | $ 17,256 | |
It is rare to get asset and account data by age band from most 529 plans, so it is interesting to see participation rates by band here for GET, one of the oldest prepaid tuition plans in the country. The most recent enrollment period for GET was in 2015, so it comes as no surprise that participation in the youngest age band would be limited.
It is interesting to note that over 40% of accounts have beneficiaries over 16. This means that there are significant outflows in the immediate future of the plan. While this might somewhat limit its appeal to bidders, average account sizes are still quite high (it’s estimated that most plans are profitable somewhere around an average account balance of $10,000).
For more information or to request a copy of the Q&A, click here.
The State of Washington issued an RFP for a new 529 savings plan in October. The state has since responded to questions from bidders. The questions cover topics including marketing strategy and budget, recordkeeping platform requirements, plan fees, and projections. In particular, the question responses include some detailed information on the breakdown of participants in the existing GET plan:
| Guaranteed Education Tuition Prepaid Tuition Plan Data as of March 18, 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary Age Range | Units Purchased to Date | Assets | Accounts | Accts as Percentage | Average Account Size |
| 0-3 | 145,103 | $17,096,035 | 2,911 | 3% | $5,873 |
| 4-8 | 1,932,942 | $227,739,226 | 17,627 | 17% | $12,920 |
| 9-12 | 3,262,049 | $384,334,613 | 21,489 | 21% | $17,885 |
| 13-15 | 3,027,097 | $356,652,569 | 16,787 | 17% | $21,246 |
| 16+ | 6,445,193 | $759,372,639 | 42,323 | 42% | $17,942 |
| TOTAL | 14,812,384 | $1,745,195,082 | 101,137 | $ 17,256 | |
It is rare to get asset and account data by age band from most 529 plans, so it is interesting to see participation rates by band here for GET, one of the oldest prepaid tuition plans in the country. The most recent enrollment period for GET was in 2015, so it comes as no surprise that participation in the youngest age band would be limited.
It is interesting to note that over 40% of accounts have beneficiaries over 16. This means that there are significant outflows in the immediate future of the plan. While this might somewhat limit its appeal to bidders, average account sizes are still quite high (it’s estimated that most plans are profitable somewhere around an average account balance of $10,000).
For more information or to request a copy of the Q&A, click here.
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