September is College Savings month and so I wanted to highlight a couple of options available for saving for college: the 529 plan and the Roth IRA account. Both provide similar tax benefits towards college savings: after-tax contributions, tax-free growth and (potentially) tax-free withdrawals. The devil is in the details, so let’s take a look at each account.

The 529 offers the most flexibility in terms of savings, but the least in terms of usage. You can contribute quite large amount each year ($15k per year) and you can also pre-fund it with 5 years worth of contributions all at once. You can withdraw the money at any time for qualified education expenses, including $10k / year for K-12.

The Roth IRA on the other hand has very tight limits on contributions per year ($6k in 2019) and also income limits: if you are a high-earner, you are phased out from contributing directly to a Roth IRA. However, once you reach age 59 ½ and have had the account for 5 years, you can withdraw the money for any reason, not just education expenses. Before that time, you can always withdraw your contributions, but will pay income taxes on any growth you withdraw for qualified education expenses.

Watch the video for more details on the pros and cons of each approach.

Mike Morton is a fee-only financial advisor based in Harvard, MA. Find out more: …(read more)

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