State Treasurer Lynn Fitch congratulated two lucky newborns who will each start their life with $529 in education savings through a Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) scholarship.
The infants were winners of a Baby Contest in celebration of National 529 College Savings Day, which is held annually on May 29th. Mississippi and other states offer tax-advantaged savings plans that help families set aside money for future college expenses. These plans are often known as 529 plans for their section in the Internal Revenue Code.
The Day helps to raise awareness of the importance of saving early for education and here in Mississippi, it also helps two families take their first steps toward saving.
Treasurer Fitch and College Savings Mississippi teamed up with 19 Mississippi hospitals to offer the two babies born closest to, at or after 5:29 a.m. and 5:29 p.m. In addition, all babies born on May 29th at the participating hospitals received an “I’m a 529 baby” bib.
“This is a great partnership we have with Mississippi hospitals and I appreciate their support in our efforts to get these families prepared for their child’s education,” said Treasurer Fitch. “Especially now that Congress has made MACS savings eligible for K12 tuition at private, religious, and public schools, it really is never too early to start saving for their education. Through opportunities like these, we can continue to make sure all families understand the importance of investing in a child’s future.”
Adley Utz was born to Heather Dobbins and Derrick Utz of Greenville at Bolivar Medical Center at 5:31 a.m and Matthew “Wood” Stringer, Jr. was born to Matthew and Courtney Stringer of Tupelo at North Mississippi Medical Center at 5:30 p.m.
The opportunity is made available to all Mississippi hospitals. This year’s participating hospitals were:
- Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi
- OCH Regional Medical Center
- Forrest General Hospital
- Rush Foundation Hospital
- Anderson Regional Medical Center
- Merit Health Wesley
- George Regional Health System
- North Mississippi Medical Center
- Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center
- Bolivar Medical Center
- Merit Health Central Office
- Merit Health Madison
- Merit Health River Oaks Hospital
- Merit Health River Regional Medical Center
- Merit Health Woman’s Hospital
- Merit Health Natchez
- St. Dominic Hospital
- Baptist Memorial Hospital – Desoto
- King’s Daughters Medical Center
College Savings Mississippi is a division of the State Treasurer’s Office offering the only two Mississippi state-sponsored 529 savings plans, Mississippi Affordable College Savings Plan (MACS) and the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Plan (MPACT). Both MACS and MPACT offer Mississippi taxpayers significant tax advantages.
