A college degree has never been more important. In fact, students who obtain one earn an additional $1 million in income over their lifetime, on average, according to a 2001 College Board Study. But paying for that degree gets tougher every year. Tuition costs have grown at twice the rate of inflation over the past 15 years (Stiglitz & Tyson, 2000). Many parents take second jobs, work overtime, or mortgage their retirement to cover college costs. Meanwhile, according to the College Board, many students graduate with more than twice the debt they did five years ago.

Despite these facts, there is a solution: plan early, save regularly and invest wisely. Don’t let sky-high estimates of what a top private college may cost in 2020 keep you from taking action today. Even modest savings can make a difference.

Early Planner or Late Starter

Whether your child is in diapers or is already borrowing the family car, you’ll want to prepare a college funding strategy. A NYLIFE Securities LLC. Registered Representative can help your family prepare for the future, including planning for college expenses. Permanent life insurance products, such as whole life and universal life, can help ensure that funds will be available to pay for your child’s education in the unfortunate event of the death of you or your spouse. In addition to death benefit protection, these policies can also provide cash value accumulation, which, if the full death benefit is no longer needed, can be accessed via policy loans. New York Life and its subsidiaries offer a variety of insurance products that can help you ensure your family’s financial protection.

Designed for Education Funding

Two very useful financial tools to save for college are Section 529 savings plans and Upromise. Section 529 savings plans are tax-advantaged investment programs sponsored by a state and managed by a designated financial instruction to help families save for college. Maximum contribution limits are high. 529 plans are offered through Registered Representatives of NYLIFE Securities (Member FINRA/SIPC). Please keep in mind that there are fees and charges associated with a 529 plan and the underlying investment options are subject to market risk and will fluctuate in value.

Potential investors of 529 plans may get more favorable tax benefits from 529 plans sponsored by their state. Consult you tax advisor for how 529 tax treatment would apply to your particular situation.

The tax legislation exempting earnings on qualified withdrawals from federal income tax expires on 12/31/2010, unless extended by Congress.

Upromise is a free service that gives you money back for college when you purchase products or services from America’s leading companies, like New York Life. Enrolling takes just a few minutes at www.upromise.com. Buy gas at Exxon Mobil, use AT&T or AOL, shop at Borders or Staples – even purchase a GM car or Countrywide mortgage – and you can save for college. You can even save when you buy thousands of items (like Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Tide, or Tylenol) at the grocery store. There are no coupons to collect or receipts to keep – and anyone, including grandparents, family, and friends can join to help out. More than 3 million families have already enrolled.

New York Life understands the importance and responsibility of saving for your child’s college education, and our financial professionals are trained to wok with your family to assess your needs and plan accordingly.

For more information about 529 plans and other products and services that can help you save for college, please contact Lonnie Goldman, MBA, CLTC, LUTCF, Registered Representative, NYLIFE Securities LLC, at (631) 391-5823.

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Tags: 529, college, Insurance, Savings, upromise

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 am and is filed under Economy, Family, Finance, Insurance, Taxes, children. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.