‘Don’t panic,’ officials tell Ore. plan investors
Monday, October 13, 2008 10:21 AM PDT
SALEM (AP) — Oregon officials are urging families who invested in Oregon’s college savings plans not to panic.
The plans lost about $100 million from January through September, but it is nearly impossible to gauge how much more they may have lost in October’s stock plunge, said Michael Parker, executive director of the Oregon 529 College Savings Network.
State Treasurer Randall Edwards says his jaw dropped last week when he read his own latest statement — he has two teenagers and a preteen.
‘‘There’s going to be some pain in it, and I’m going to feel some of that pain, but I think overall people are going to be fine,’’ Edwards said. ‘‘I’m not changing a thing.’’
He acknowledged, though, that that especially parents who have an older child in college or one who will soon graduate from high school are going to find things ‘‘a little rough.’’
Oregon offers three college savings plans with tax incentives. Investors can deduct up to $4,000 on state taxes for married couples filing jointly.
The money in the plan grows and can be taken out tax free (federal and state) if it is used for qualified higher education expenses, such as tuition, fees, room, board, books and supplies. There are about 70,000 investors setting aside money for more than 100,000 children in three plans under the Oregon 529 College Savings Network. The plans offer tax incentives under Section 529 of the federal tax code.
About 90 percent of families in the flagship plan, called the Oregon College Savings Plan, pick an age-based investment strategy that starts out aggressive and gets more conservative as the child gets older. The average age of children in the plan is about 71⁄2.
