Governor Phil Bryant signed a proclamation declaring September 2018 College Savings Month in Mississippi. States across the country use September to promote the importance of saving for a college education.
“With tuition continuing to climb year after year, dreams of higher education too often feel out of reach,” said State Treasurer Lynn Fitch. “But, with Mississippi’s two 529 college savings plans, those dreams are very attainable.”
Treasurer Fitch’s office administers both of Mississippi’s 529 college savings plans: MPACT, the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program, which helps you guard against the rising cost of tuition by essentially freezing it in time, and MACS, the Mississippi Affordable College Savings program, which helps you stretch your savings dollars to pay not just for tuition and mandatory fees, but some room and board expenses, books, and even laptops. Both plans come with State and federal tax advantages.
“By the time your child is in the third grade, she’s halfway to college,” Fitch said. “It’s really never too early, or too late, to start saving. And, we’re grateful for the partnership between College Savings Mississippi and the Mississippi Children’s Museum, which each September hosts our annual $5.29 College Savings Day to help promote college savings to young families. We invite everyone to come by the Museum on Saturday, September 8th to enjoy fun financial literacy activities, take pictures with Echo, and register for a chance to win one of two $529 MACS scholarships we will be giving away.”
The event will take place on Saturday, September 8th at the Mississippi Children’s Museum in Jackson from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Special financial literacy activities will be available for the kids to participate in and drawings for the $529 MACT scholarships will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission to the Museum will be $5.29 all day on the 8th.
Fitch added that MPACT enrollment season just opened for a new year on September 1st, though newborns can apply throughout the year. You can open a MACS account at any time throughout the year, as well. And, under new federal tax laws, MACS can now be used for up to $10,000 per calendar year for your child’s tuition at private, religious, and public primary and secondary schools.
