The NextGen College Investing Plan is a tax-advantaged way to save and invest for anyone's future higher-education expenses and can be used at accredited post-secondary schools. The NextGen Plan is a Section 529 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME). Investment oversight is provided by the Maine State Treasurer. Merrill Lynch is the Program Manager.

• You probably know that you need to save for your child's or grandchild's higher education. According to Trends in College Pricing 2005 (data collected in The College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges, 2005-06) the cost of a four-year college education is approximately $51,364 for a public school and $110,708 for a private school. With inflation, by the time a one-year-old would attend college, those numbers are projected to be $133,198 and $287,089, respectively. (Projected college estimates are based on the College Cost Calculator found at collegeboard.com and assume an annual average tuition increase of 5%.)

• Meeting these important goals requires careful planning and a commitment to a saving and investing strategy. Investing through a tax-advantaged 529 account is a great way to help you meet your goal.

• And did you know that according to a study published by the U.S. Census Bureau, college graduates can earn an average of $1 million more than high school graduates over their career lifetime? See The Big Payoff, Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings, U.S. Census Bureau, Special Study, July 2002.

• Anyone can open a NextGen account.
  Parents, grandparents, even family friends can establish an account regardless of income, residency, or the age of the beneficiary.

• Tax-deferred growth and withdrawals.
  The NextGen Plan's earnings grow Maine state and federal income-tax-deferred, and are tax-free so long as the withdrawals are used for qualified higher education expenses.

• Special gifting benefits.
  Under a special five-year gift rule, you may be eligible to make a special gift-tax election and make NextGen account contributions of $120,000 per couple or $60,000 per individual for each beneficiary in just one year (as long as no additional contributions are made to that beneficiary's account during the five-year period). This makes the NextGen account an effective way to reduce taxes on your estate while making a generous gift to someone special.

• Special estate planning benefits.
  Assets in the NextGen account generally are considered completed gifts and, therefore, not part of your taxable estate.

• Invest effectively for higher education expenses.
  A NextGen account can be used for eligible expenses at any accredited post-secondary institution that is eligible to participate in student aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education, including graduate schools and trade schools.

  Eligible expenses include:

  Tuition and fees

  Room and board (only if student is attending at least half-time)

  Books and required supplies

  Expenses related to special needs beneficiaries

• High contribution limits.
  Effective January 1, 2007, the NextGen account contribution limit is $320,000 per beneficiary (adjusted annually).

• Flexible and affordable contribution minimums.
  For as little as $50 per month you can make contributions through convenient automated funding options, including payroll deduction.  Or, you may make random contributions to your NextGen account (birthday and holidays, for example).

• You can choose from a wide range of investment options that let you benefit from professional investment management provided by multiple fund families. In addition, you may invest in a principal protected option. Click on Investment Options to learn more.

• You may contribute to a NextGen account and a Coverdell Education Savings account (formerly Education IRA) in the same year and for the same beneficiary without a tax penalty.

• You retain control over the use of the account assets and can change beneficiaries at any time. You also can transfer a portion or the entire account to another beneficiary. However, if assets are withdrawn for nonqualified expenses or you decide to take back the money for yourself, the earnings portion of the withdrawal is subject to state and federal income taxes, plus a 10% penalty. The penalty is waived under the following conditions:

  • If the beneficiary receives a scholarship, you can withdraw up to the amount of the scholarship from your account.

  • If the beneficiary becomes disabled, you can withdraw up to the account balance.

  • If the beneficiary dies, you can withdraw up to the account balance if the withdrawal is paid to the beneficiary's estate.

• Within the NextGen Plan, you can customize your investment strategy from a wide range of professionally managed portfolios within one account.

• You may change your investment allocations on future contributions at any time and reallocate existing investments once per calendar year.

• You may be putting off investing for your child's college education simply because you're overwhelmed by the potential costs. However, a little planning today will go a long way toward providing your child with the gift of a college education.

• Many parents are surprised to learn that consistently contributing relatively small amounts on a monthly basis can, over time, amount to a substantial college fund. Through the power of tax-deferred compounding, even small amounts invested regularly can potentially grow to larger amounts over time.

By investing money on a regular basis and saving for college early, parents can take advantage of dollar-cost averaging. A time-tested investment strategy, dollar-cost averaging allows an investor to purchase securities in fixed dollar amounts regularly (as little as $50 per month) at fixed intervals regardless of how the security is performing. As a result, you may build a portfolio over time, without trying to predict market cycles.

As you can see by the hypothetical example, making monthly contributions will allow your savings to grow, assuming investments earned a hypothetical 8% rate of return compounded annually.*

*This chart is for illustration purposes only. It does not reflect an actual investment in the NextGen College Investing Plan or taxes, if any, payable upon withdrawal. Investment of contributions are subject to market, interest rate and other investment risks. Returns on contributions to the NextGen College Investing Plan are not guaranteed and may be less than or greater than the amount invested.

NOTE: Dollar cost averaging and other periodic investments do not assure a profit and do not protect against loss in declining markets. Such a plan involves continuous investment in securities, regardless of fluctuating price levels of such securities. Investors should consider their financial ability to continue their purchases through periods of high or low price levels. At the current time, if the NextGen account owner or designated beneficiary is a resident of Maine, FAME expects to provide a rebate approximately equal to the Maine Administration Fee to all accounts with a minimum aggregate balance of $1,000 at the end of the calendar year. FAME also intends to use a portion of the Maine Administration Fee to fund the Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to certain Maine residents evidencing financial need, and to provide matching grants to eligible accounts opened by a Maine resident or for a designated beneficiary who is a Maine resident. Click on Maine Resident Benefits to learn more.