Welcome to Stay Wealthy Podcast. I'm your host, Taylor Schulte, and today I'm talking about 529 college savings plans. In fact, a big change was recently made to grandparent-owned 529s that seemed to fly under the radar. In addition to discussing this change with you, Robert

Farrington from the college investor joins me to discuss three important things. Number one,

how to maximize the tax benefits of a 529, why 529 plans are great estate planning tools,

and how to invest your money inside a 529.

We also talk about alternatives to 529 plans that retirement savers might consider.

So if you want to learn about the new 529 rules and how to maximize the tax and estate

planning benefits of these accounts, you're going to love today's episode.

For the links and resources mentioned, just head over to love today's episode. For the links and resources

mentioned, just head over to you staywealthy.com forward slash 156. Investors who are in retirement

or close to it might think that 529 college savings plans no longer play a role in their financial life. But just like IRAs and

401ks, 529s have many different use cases. And some of these use cases can help address and meet

common retirement planning goals. Some can also be helpful from a tax planning or a state planning

perspective to help us dive into the world of 529s and specifically grandparent-owned 529s, I invited a special guest to join me today.

Hey, I'm Robert Farrington. I am the founder of the college investor. The college investor.com is one of the top blog sites, if not the top for all things related to college planning.

And some of the most popular articles and resources that Robert has published to the website are on the topic of 529 college savings plans.

529 college savings plans are state specific.

And they were originally created in the late 1980s to help combat the financial

strain that college had put on families and students. Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Wyoming

were the states that played a major role in bringing these plans to life. And since their

creation, roughly 12 million families in the United States have saved nearly $260 billion inside a 529 accounts

or more formally referred to as Section 529 plans.

So what exactly is a Section 529 plan?

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