Fed Financial

529 Plan...what counts against financial aid?

Okay...both sets of grandparents want my baby's ss# so that they can put money away for her. I'm grateful and thrilled. We're planning to open a 529 account for her, partially because I learned that this money won't be counted if she needs to apply for financial aid for college. So, I'm wondering how to ask the grandparents to invest in a way that won't count against her in later aid applications. Since they have not talked to us about it, I'm assuming they don't want to put it in an account that we control. Otherwise, I would think they'd just give us the money to invest and talk to us about it. So, can they open a 529 plan in our state, in her name, if we already have one? Should we coordinate with them to open plans in different states? Or are there other investment options that they could use that would not be counted as assets on a financial aid application? Thank you so much for your help!

Public Comments

1. From my understanding anyone can open a 529 plan for a minor child. Then the holder of the account would get the tax deductions (if your state allows). And as far as I know, multiple plans do not count against aid, just like only one. Have the grandparents go and talk to a financial advisor to get all the rules. Just make sure all of you watch the plan for outrageous fees, some of them have fees higher than your gains would be. Congrats on new baby!
2. OK EVERYBODY CAN OPEN A PLAN -- BUT I WOULD NOT PUSH THE PLAN TOO MUCH = I WOULD EXPLAIN AND LET THE GRAND PARENTS CHOSE THE WAY THEY WANT TO INVEST!!!