Treasurer Touts Nebraska's College Savings Plans

Plans Allow Parents To Control Risk Based On Child's Age

OMAHA, Neb. -- Nebraska's age-based portfolios for college savings plans are some of the top-rated in the country, according to State Treasurer Shane Osborn.
The state's plans allow parents to decide the risk level depending on their children's age. That allows investments to be drawn into more conservative funds as the child approaches college.
With the recent volatility in the stock market, Osborn has been giving parents a pep talk on staying steady with state-sponsored 529 plans.

"This is America, we're gonna have ups and downs," Osborn said. "We just have to believe in the market, believe in the system."
Nebraska sponsors four college savings plans -- the College Savings Plan of Nebraska, the TD Ameritrade 529, the AIM plan and a State Farm plan. The State Farm plan will change service providers on Nov. 1 to Oppenheimer Funds. Osborn said fees on that fund should be reduced by 50 percent.
Osborne said now is a good time to put money into a diversified college savings portfolio.
"Quite frankly, depending on the time of it, a lot of things are on sale right now," he said.