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News Release
Monday, June 25, 2012
Oklahoma College Savings Plan Ranks among Top 10 Best-Performing 529 Plans
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Treasurer Ken Miller announced today the Oklahoma College Savings Plan (OCSP) ranks among the nation’s Top Ten best-performing 529 plans. According to Savingforcollege.com's newly-released investment performance rankings, the OCSP commands the No. 9 spot on the list of college savings programs ranked for one-year performance ending March 31, 2012. Savingforcollege.com, a leading independent authority on Section 529 college-savings plans, releases its various performance rankings on a quarterly basis.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for the OCSP 529 plan to place ninth among nearly 100 plans reviewed by Savingforcollege.com,” said Miller, OCSP Chairman. “This type of objective, third-party recognition from the 529 plan community should give Oklahoma parents and grandparents additional confidence in the OCSP investment products, and the management of our program.
“Oklahomans can count on the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan to help accomplish their education savings goals, Miller added. “However, it should be noted that our strong recent performance is no guarantee of future returns.”
Miller said the state-sponsored, tax-advantaged 529 plan, gives parents the opportunity and flexibility to contribute as little or as much as they want over the period of time they choose. When it is time for their child to enter college, the money can be used at hundreds of universities across the nation to pay college-related costs such as tuition, textbooks and other expenses.
In producing its quarterly rankings, Savingforcollege.com compares the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from the 529 savings plans in every state. Portfolios are selected based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, aiming for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different asset-allocation categories. You can go to savingforcollege.com for more details on the rankings.
"Comparing the historical investment performance of competing 529 plans is something that few investors have time to do on their own," says Joseph Hurley, founder and CEO of JFH Innovative LLC, which owns Savingforcollege.com. "Our system distills data from nearly 100 plans to provide an objective set of rankings," he said.
About OCSP
Oklahoma taxpayers may deduct from their Oklahoma adjusted gross income up to $10,000 in contributions to the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan for individual taxpayers and up to $20,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return with a five-year carryforward.
All contributions and any earnings to an OCSP account are federal and Oklahoma income tax-deferred, and distributions are also federal and Oklahoma income tax-free when qualified withdrawals are made to fund an array of student expenses at most institutions of higher learning. Funds may be used at virtually any private or public university, college or career technology center nationwide, and the savings can be applied to tuition as well as other qualified expenses including fees, books, supplies and certain room and board costs.
For more information about the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan or to open an account, visit the website at www.ok4saving.org or call 1-877-654-7284.
The Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan is a state-sponsored, tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing Inc. Introduced in April 2000, the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan currently has more than $464 million in total assets and more than 47,600 accounts, as of June 14, 2012.
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For more information contact:
Tim Allen, Treasurer’s Office, (405) 522-4212
Kym Koch, Koch Communications, (405) 831-8668