The Florida College Investment Plan and the Florida Prepaid College Plan are both 529 plans. They are both sponsored by the State of Florida and are both managed by the Florida Prepaid College Board.
The term "529 plan" describes a type of tax-advantaged college plan authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. The money you contribute to these plans grows tax-deferred, and when the student (beneficiary) is ready for college, withdrawals for qualified college expenses are exempt from federal income tax.
Even though many 529 plans are marketed and sold by large financial services companies, by federal law, a 529 plan must be sponsored by a state.
There are two types of 529 plans: prepaid plans and savings/investment plans. The savings/investment type, like the new Florida College Investment Plan, is the one often referred to by financial planners and the media as a "529 plan."
With a Florida Prepaid College Plan, you have prepaid some of your college costs. The Florida College Investment Plan gives you a way to save for the extra expenses not covered by your Florida Prepaid College Plan including books, off-campus housing and the additional costs of most private and out-of-state colleges and graduate school.
Anyone - parents, grandparents, other relatives, friends and even businesses - can open an account.
The account owner, the survivor and the student (beneficiary) do not have to be residents of Florida to participate in the Florida College Investment Plan.
The account owner, the survivor and the beneficiary must be citizens or resident aliens of the United States and have a social security number.
If the account owner is an entity, such as a business, trust or organization, the entity must be organized under the laws of the United States and have a federal taxpayer identification number.
The account owner, the survivor and the beneficiary do not have to be related.
No. The account owner and student (beneficiary) can live in any state and do not have to be a Florida resident to participate in the Florida College Investment Plan.
There is no age "limit" to participate in the Florida College Investment Plan.
The student (beneficiary) can be any age. The beneficiary can be a child, an adult or even yourself. You cannot, however, open an account for an "unborn" child.
The account owner must be at least 18 years old.
No. You can only designate one child/grandchild (beneficiary) per account, but you can open a separate account for each child/grandchild.
Yes. Different account owners can open an account for the same student (beneficiary). So, for example, a parent and a grandparent can both open separate accounts for the same student.
The same account owner cannot open multiple accounts for the same beneficiary. The account owner may, however, select different investment options for the same beneficiary. Refer to Investment Options
No. The application provides space for one account owner and one survivor. Every account must have a person designated as the account owner; designation of a survivor is optional. The existence of a survivor does not create a joint account.
However, for all investment plan accounts established on or after February 1, 2009, the approval of both account owner and survivor named on the application will be required to change the name of the account owner, survivor and beneficiary, request voluntary termination of the account, or request for a refund if the account is involuntarily terminated. For investment plan accounts established prior to February 1, 2009, the survivor enjoys the right of survivorship and only the approval of the account owner named on the application is required to change the account owner, survivor or beneficiary, request voluntary termination of the account, or request a refund if the account is involuntarily terminated. Regardless of the date an investment plan account is established, refunds are issued only to the account owner; not to either the survivor or beneficiary.
You can use the plan at most any institution of higher education, anywhere in the United States and even some schools abroad. You can use the plan at any public or private accredited university, community college or technical school.
No. It doesn't matter where the student (beneficiary) goes to college. You get the same benefit from the plan whether the student goes to college in Florida or out of state.
You can withdraw money from the account to pay for any qualified higher education expense, including tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, and computers and equipment required by the college. The account may be used to fund certain other enrollment and attendance costs of special needs students.
The student (beneficiary) must be enrolled at least half-time at a qualified college for room and board to be considered a qualified expense.
For students living with their parents and for students living off-campus, the qualified room and board amount is the cost of attendance allowance for federal financial aid purposes at the college of choice.
For students living on-campus, the qualified room and board amount is the actual amount charged by the college, even if it is greater than the cost of attendance allowance.
The Florida College Investment Plan offers you five investment options. You can select one or any combination of investment options that best fit your financial goals.
You can transfer money already invested once per calendar year or upon a change of beneficiary. You may change the allocation of future contributions at any time by submitting an Allocation Change Form.
We cannot provide investment advice and encourage you to consult your own advisors before deciding which investment option or options are right for you.
The Florida College Investment Plan offers a choice of investment options with different levels of risk. When deciding how to allocate your contributions, consider the balance of risk and return for each investment option and any other factors specific to your personal circumstances.
We cannot provide investment advice and encourage you to consult your own advisors before deciding which investment option or options are right for you.
Your money is invested based on the investment option or options you choose. For each investment option, there are underlying investment portfolios.
The Florida Prepaid College Board has adopted a Comprehensive Investment Plan that describes the investment managers, goals, strategies, asset allocation and performance benchmarks for each portfolio. The Comprehensive Investment Plan has been approved by Florida's Governor, Chief Financial Officer and Attorney General.
A summary of the investment options and underlying investment portfolios is included in the Florida College Investment Plan Disclosure Statement posted on this site.
No, federal tax laws prohibit you from directing the investment of assets in your account, directly or indirectly. You only may choose from one or any combination of the investment options offered under the Florida College Investment Plan.
You can transfer money already invested once per calendar year or upon a change of beneficiary. You may change the allocation of future contributions at any time by submitting an Allocation Change Form.
We cannot provide investment advice and encourage you to consult your own advisors before deciding which investment option or options are right for you.
Yes. The Florida College Investment Plan is not guaranteed. Principal and investment returns will fluctuate, you could lose all or a portion of your money invested in the Florida College Investment Plan and you may not have enough money to cover the qualified higher education expenses of the student (beneficiary). Investments in the Florida College Investment Plan are not deposits or obligations of, or insured or guaranteed by the State of Florida, the U.S. government, the Florida Prepaid College Board, the FDIC, or any other governmental agency or financial institution.
The Florida Prepaid College Board manages both the Florida College Investment Plan and the Florida Prepaid College Plan. The Florida Prepaid College Board is an agency of Florida government.
The Board has seven members, including three members appointed by the Governor, the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, the Attorney General of Florida, the Chancellor of the Board of Governors and the Chancellor of the Division of Community Colleges, or their designees.
Investments in the Florida College Investment Plan are not deposits or obligations of, or insured or guaranteed by the State of Florida, the U.S. government, the Florida Prepaid College Board, the FDIC, or any other governmental agency or financial institution.
The Florida Prepaid College Board partners with top professional money managers to manage the plan investments. Our investment partners include:
Deutsche Bank Trust Americas d/b/a Deutsche Asset Management Inc. - Global investment firm managing $812 billion in total assets.
Northern Trust Investments N.A. - Multi-asset class investor with $757 billion in total assets under management.
StableRiver Capital Management - Subsidiary of Sun Trust Banks with $36.4 billion in total assets under management.
Columbia Management Advisors, LLC - Subsidiary of Bank of America with more than $144 billion in registered money market mutual fund assets under management..
Quantitative Management Associates - Manages $59 billion in domestic and international assets.
Fiduciary Management, Inc. - Manages over $4.0 billion in assets for Registered Investment Advisors, domestic and international institutions, and individual investors throughout the United States.
Principal and investment returns will fluctuate, you could lose all or a portion of your money invested in the Florida College Investment Plan and you may not have enough money to cover the qualified higher education expenses of the student (beneficiary). Investments in the Florida College Investment Plan are not deposits or obligations of, or insured or guaranteed by the State of Florida, the U.S. government, the Florida Prepaid College Board, the FDIC, or any other governmental agency or financial institution.
Yes. If you are opening an account with a check, the initial contribution required is $250. Each subsequent contribution you make to your account by check must be at least $25. Alternatively, if you open an account with a monthly ACH withdrawal from your financial institution checking or savings account or if you sign-up for payroll deduction, each minimum monthly payment must be $25.
The maximum account limit is currently $349,000 per student (beneficiary). Once the total value of all accounts for the same beneficiary reaches $349,000, you cannot make any new contributions, but the market value of the accounts can continue to grow.
Contributions made in excess of the maximum account limit will be returned to the account owner.
The maximum account limit is based on the current value of all Florida Prepaid Plan accounts and the current market value of all Florida College Investment Plan accounts combined for the same beneficiary.
The maximum account limit may periodically be increased.
You decide how often you want to contribute to your account.
Yes. You may authorize automatic contributions be taken directly from your financial institution account once a month - on the 1st or the 15th - or twice a month, on the 1st and 15th. Click here for the Automatic Contribution Form.
No. All contributions must be in cash. Checks, Money Orders and bank transfers are considered "cash."
The Florida College Investment Plan will accept a rollover from another 529 college savings plan, a qualified U.S. Savings Bond, a Coverdell Education Savings Account (Education IRA) and transfers from a UTMA/UGMA account. Refer to Rollovers.
Anyone can make a contribution to your account. However, only the account owner can authorize a withdrawal, even if someone else has made contributions to the account.
Yes. Your employer must first agree to offer payroll deduction for the plan. Ask your employer to call us at 1-800-552-GRAD (4723) for more information.
Any time. There is no minimum length of time that contributions must remain in an account before a withdrawal may be requested.
If a withdrawal is made for something other than a qualified college expense (non-qualified withdrawal), the account owner will be required to pay federal income tax and an additional 10 percent federal tax on the earnings, if any. There are certain exceptions: death or disability of the beneficiary or if the beneficiary receives a scholarship.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
Funds may be withdrawn from an account at any time. It doesn't matter if the student (beneficiary) does not start college when originally expected or enrolls in college part time.
The student must be enrolled at least half-time for any portion of room and board expenses to be considered a qualified higher education expense.
All withdrawal requests must be in writing. The account owner must sign the request. Click here for the Withdrawal Form. The account owner may request that such withdrawals/distributions be made payable to the account owner, to the student (beneficiary) or to an eligible college.
A request to withdraw or distribute all of the funds in an investment plan account is considered to be a voluntarily termination of the investment plan account. For investment plan accounts established on or after February 1, 2009, the approval of both account owner and survivor named on the application will be required to voluntarily cancel the account. For investment plan accounts established prior to February 1, 2009, only the approval of the account owner named on the application is required to voluntarily cancel the account. Regardless of the date an investment plan account is established, refunds associated with voluntary cancellations are issued only to the account owner.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
Qualified withdrawals are distributions used to pay for the qualified higher education expenses of the student (beneficiary) listed on the account.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
A non-qualified withdrawal is any distribution other than a qualified withdrawal or a withdrawal due to student (beneficiary) death, disability or scholarship. The earnings portion of any non-qualified withdrawal is subject to federal income tax and an additional 10 percent federal tax.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
Beginning January 1, 2002, withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses are exempt from federal income tax.
Earnings on qualified withdrawals are exempt from State of Florida taxes.
If you make a withdrawal for something other than a qualified college expense (non-qualified withdrawal), the account owner will be required to pay federal income tax and an additional 10 percent federal tax on the earnings, if any. There are certain exceptions: death or disability of the beneficiary or if the beneficiary receives a scholarship.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
If the student (beneficiary) receives a scholarship, you can use your plan to pay for any qualified college expenses that are not covered by the scholarship. You can transfer the account to another qualified beneficiary. Or you can request a withdrawal for the amount of the scholarship without incurring the additional 10 percent federal tax; however, the earnings portion of the scholarship refund is subject to federal income tax. A scholarship refund withdrawal cannot exceed the allowances under section 25A(g)(2) of the IRS code. The plan does not charge any fees for a withdrawal due to a scholarship award.
The account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS. You should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
No. However, since the account owner is responsible for reporting all withdrawals to the IRS, you should retain receipts, invoices or other documents and information adequate to substantiate that a particular expense is a qualified or non-qualified withdrawal.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor before making a withdrawal or taking any other action regarding the Florida College Investment Plan.
No. Withdrawals are deducted from your selected investment options on a pro-rated basis, calculated on your total account value.
For example, if your account value is $100,000 with $50,000 in the Equity Investment Option, $25,000 in the Age Based/Years to Enrollment Investment Option and $25,000 in the Fixed Income Investment Option and you request a withdrawal for $10,000, the withdrawal will be deducted as follows: $5,000 from the Equity Investment Option, $2,500 from the Age Based/Years to Enrollment Investment Option and $2,500 from the Fixed Income Investment Option.
We encourage you to make no more than six withdrawals per year. However, there is no limit on the number or the dollar amount of withdrawals.
Your investment grows tax-deferred, and when the student (beneficiary) is ready for college, the earnings on qualified withdrawals are not subject to federal income tax or State of Florida taxes.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor.
No. We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor.
Federal law allows you to contribute up to $60,000 in a lump-sum amount per student (beneficiary) or up to $120,000 for married couples in one year, without incurring any gift taxes. While other contributions within five years will be subject to the gift tax, your account can continue to grow and is no longer considered an asset in your federal taxable estate.
The federal gift tax exclusions are periodically adjusted for inflation. If a contributor makes a lump-sum gift and dies before the end of the five-year period, the money may remain in the Florida College Investment Plan, but a portion of the contribution may be subject to federal estate taxes.
Withdrawals for qualified college expenses are not a taxable gift.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor.
Yes. The Florida College Investment Plan will accept a rollover from another 529 plan. There is no charge to rollover another 529 plan to the Florida College Investment Plan.
With your rollover request, you must attach a statement showing the earnings portion of the distribution. If you do not attach the proper documentation, the entire amount of the rollover contribution will be treated as earnings and may be taxable.
Federal law limits one rollover or transfer for the same student (beneficiary) to once every 12 months.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor.
You cannot rollover your Florida College Prepaid Plan directly to the Florida College Investment Plan. You can cancel your Florida Prepaid College Plan and get a refund. Your refund will be based on the amount paid for your Florida Prepaid College Plan. You will not receive any interest or earnings. If you have had your Florida Prepaid College Plan less than two years, you will be charged a $50 cancellation fee. If you want, you may then contribute your Florida Prepaid College Plan refund to the Florida College Investment Plan.
Yes. The Florida College Investment Plan will accept a rollover of a qualified U.S. Savings Bond, a Coverdell Education Savings Account (Education IRA) or a transfer from an UTMA/UGMA account. There is no charge to rollover a savings bond, Coverdell Education Savings Account (Education IRA) or UTMA/UGMA to the Florida College Investment Plan.
With your rollover request, you must attach a statement showing the earnings portion of the distribution. If you do not attach the proper documentation, the entire amount of the rollover contribution will be treated as earnings and may be taxable.
We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor.
If you qualify for the Coverdell Education Savings Account, yes. We cannot provide tax advice and encourage you to consult your own tax advisor for more information.
Yes. For investment plan accounts established on or after February 1, 2009, the notarized signature of the account owner and the survivor are required on a written request to change the beneficiary (student). For investment plan accounts established prior to February 1, 2009, the account owner may change the beneficiary (student) on the account by submitting a notarized, written request signed by the account owner. Click here for the Beneficiary Change Form.
A beneficiary change to a family member is a non-taxable event and is not subject to federal income tax or the additional 10 percent federal tax. The plan does not charge a fee to change the beneficiary.
A family member is defined as a person related to the beneficiary as follows:
For this purpose a child includes a legally adopted child and a brother or sister includes a half-brother or a half-sister.
Yes, the account owner for an investment plan account can be changed.
For investment plan accounts established on or after February 1, 2009, a written, notarized request signed by both the account owner and survivor is required to change the name of the account owner (and/or the survivor). For investment plan accounts established prior to February 1, 2009, a written, notarized request signed by the account owner is required to change the name of the account owner. Click here for the Change of Account Owner Form.
You may change the account owner without being subject to federal income tax or the additional 10 percent federal tax. The plan does not charge a fee to change the account owner.
When you transfer account ownership, you are not required to change the designated student (beneficiary).
You will receive quarterly statements confirming account activity, and you may access information about your account, including the current account balance, in several ways:
There is a one-time, nonrefundable $50 application fee. The application fee is discounted for current customers who already have a Florida Prepaid College Plan for the same beneficiary ($30 application fee) or if you are opening a Florida College Investment Plan and a Florida Prepaid College Plan for the same beneficiary at the same time ($80 total application fee).
You must also include an initial contribution of at least $250 with your application or set up a recurring automatic payment of at least $25. You may contribute as much as you want, up to the current maximum contribution amount.
You will pay no commissions or sales charges for the Florida College Investment Plan. There is a one-time application fee and a low annual administration fee of just ¾ of 1 percent (75 basis points) of your account balance. So, for every $1,000 in your account, you will pay only $7.50 a year.
Yes.
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