Treasurer Stacy Garrity Announces $5.5 Million in Savings for PA 529 GSP Owners Treasurer Stacy Garrity today announced that asset-based fees will be waived for PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) account owners for the third year in a row. This year’s fee waiver will save families $5.5 million and is funded by PA 529 GSP surplus earnings. “Waiving these fees makes our fantastic PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan even stronger for the families using it to save for their child’s future education,” Treasurer Garrity said. “The PA 529 GSP helps families meet their savings goals no matter what path their child will take in the future, whether that’s career training, an apprenticeship, technical school, community college or a four-year university. For families, this means more money saved for the future, which means less to borrow when a child chooses their path.” This year’s PA 529 GSP fee waiver went into effect on July 1, 2024, and account owners will not see any asset-based fees on quarterly account statements through June 30, 2025. Treasurer Garrity has also cut fees multiple times for the Morningstar Gold-Rated PA 529 Investment Plan (IP). In total, fee cuts and waivers for all PA 529 College and Career Savings Program accounts will save families more than $16.5 million by the end of the current fiscal year. PA 529 accounts are designed to help Pennsylvania families steadily and strategically save for a wide variety of qualifying technical, collegiate, apprenticeship and K-12 educational expenses. There are significant state and federal tax benefits when saving with PA 529, and PA 529 assets do not impact eligibility for Pennsylvania state financial aid. The PA 529 GSP allows families to save at today’s tuition rates to meet tomorrow’s tuition costs. Account earnings are based on college tuition inflation rates, and families can choose the tuition credit rate they wish to save at from community colleges to Ivy League universities. The PA 529 IP offers a variety of investment options. Account earnings are dependent upon financial market performance. PA 529 has been helping families meet their savings goals for more than 30 years. There are more than 300,000 PA 529 accounts, including more than 113,000 PA 529 GSP accounts and more than 187,000 PA 529 IP accounts. Families currently have nearly $8 billion saved for future education expenses. To learn more about PA 529, visit pa529.com or call 800-440-4000.
Treasurer Announces $50 Million Savings for Keystone Scholars $100 jumpstart for newborns encourages education savings for youngest Pennsylvanians Treasurer Stacy Garrity today announced that families who have registered their child’s Keystone Scholars accounts have saved more than $50 million for their children’s future education in linked PA 529 College and Career Savings Program accounts. “Keystone Scholars is a catalyst to help families start saving as early as possible for their child’s postsecondary education – and this $50 million contribution milestone shows the program is working wonders for our youngest Pennsylvanians,” Garrity said. “The initial $100 Keystone Scholars deposit grows alongside a child until they’re ready to follow their career or education journey, and I’m so excited to see families making a commitment to save early for their child’s future education by opening their own PA 529 accounts.” Keystone Scholars provides a $100 investment for every child born to a Pennsylvania family on or after January 1, 2019, including those adopted. The program uses no taxpayer money, and the funds are invested by Treasury. Accounts can be used after a child’s 18th birthday to help pay for a wide variety of technical, collegiate and apprenticeship expenses. There are currently more than 480,000 funded Keystone Scholars accounts. Keystone Scholars is the first legislated, universal, automatic, at-birth program of its kind, and is a national model for Child Development Accounts (CDAs). CDAs have been shown to have multiple positive outcomes, including increased parental expectations for children’s educational future and improved social and emotional development for children. Research shows that children with even a modest amount of savings for education are three times more likely to attend a two- or four-year postsecondary institution, and four times more likely to graduate. The implementation of Keystone Scholars has helped increase PA 529 account ownership statewide, including growth among low-income families and families in rural communities. “I encourage any new or expectant parent to visit pa529.com/keystone to register or pre-register their Keystone Scholars accounts and learn more about the power of saving with our PA 529 program,” Garrity said. “It’s never too early, or too late to start saving for your child’s future, and once Keystone Scholars and PA 529 accounts are linked, families will see both balances grow side-by-side.” The PA 529 College and Career Savings Program is designed to help PA families steadily and strategically save for future educational expenses. Treasury offers two plans; the PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP), which allows you to save at today’s tuition rates to meet tomorrow’s tuition costs, and the PA 529 Investment Plan (IP), which offers a number of investment options. PA 529 plans have significant state and federal tax advantages and can be used for a wide variety of qualifying technical, collegiate, apprenticeship and K-12 educational expenses. To learn more, or to register your child’s Keystone Scholars account, visit pa529.com/keystone. Media Contact:Samantha Heckel, Press Secretary, 717-418-0206 or sheckel@patreasury.gov
