In celebration of College Savings Month, the Tennessee Treasury Department wants to help make college planning easier.
Beginning Sept. 10, the department will host a series of free web-based seminars - or webinars - on topics related to college savings. These webinars will include information about the TNStars 529 College Savings Plan, which allows people to save money for children’s college expenses with tax advantages.
Money earned on investments in TNStars is tax-free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses.
The TNStars program offers participants a number of different investment options ranging from conservative to aggressive.
One of them is an age-based option that features more aggressive investments when children are younger and progressively more conservative investments as children approach college age.
“I hope as many Tennesseans as possible will take advantage of these free webinars,” State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. said. “September is College Savings Month, so it is very appropriate to begin having these webinars during that time. Saving money for college can seem like a daunting task. But people who regularly set aside even small amounts and invest that money wisely will build up substantial nest eggs over time.”
Registration for the webinars is open to anyone who would like participate. To register, visit www.tnstars.com.
Each webinar will begin at 11:30 a.m. Central time and last approximately 30 minutes.
The schedule of webinars, with topics, is:
Sept. 10 – History of 529 college savings plans and the merits of those plans compared with other education savings accounts
Sept. 24 – Overview of the TNStars 529 College Savings Plan and how to enroll
Oct. 1 – Information on the Tennessee Investments Preparing Scholars program
Oct. 8 – Background on the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission