Education Savings Plans (also known as 529 Plans) are investment accounts used to pay for education expenses for a designated student beneficiary.

Types of Plans

The state of Michigan operates two 529 plans designed to help families save for the future costs of college. All 50 states offer 529 plans, below are the plans offered by the state of Michigan:

• Michigan Education Trust (MET)
  MET is a prepaid tuition savings program which allows you to pre-purchase tuition at today’s price. Funds from this plan can only be used to pay for tuition and fees, it does not apply to room, board, or books
• Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP)
  MESP is an education savings plan where contributions grow through a variety of investment options. Funds from this plan can be used to cover any educational expenses included tuition, fees, housing, food, books, and more. Withdrawals are tax free when the funds are used for qualified educational expenses.

How to Use

In order to use funds from 529 Plan at K, the owner of the plan will need to request funds from the plan be sent directly to the college. The funds are received by the Student Accounts Office and applied to a student’s bill as a payment. Allowances for different costs including tuition, housing, and food can be found on our Cost of Attendance page.

FAFSA Reporting

Funds in 529 plans are considered assets of the owner of the plan contract. This means that if the contract is owned by the parent(s) listed on the FAFSA, the value of the 529 plan must be reported in the parent assets section. Note that the value of all plans must be reported, not just the one for the student applying for financial aid. If the plan is owned by someone other than a parent, the value of the account is not reported on the FAFSA.