Treasurer Stacy Garrity Celebrates College Savings Month, Encourages Families to Claim Keystone Scholars Accounts for Youngest Pennsylvanians

Harrisburg, PA - Treasurer Stacy Garrity is celebrating College Savings Month by encouraging families with young children to claim their free $100 scholarship from Keystone Scholars and begin their savings journey with the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program.

"Parents and grandparents have big dreams for their children and grandchildren, and the Pennsylvania Treasury wants to help make them a reality. I encourage families with young children to claim their Keystone Scholars accounts, and I hope every family will explore the great savings options available in our PA 529 program to help them reach their financial goals."

Keystone Scholars provides a $100 scholarship for every child born in Pennsylvania (and those subsequently adopted by a Pennsylvania family) in 2019 and after. The money is invested by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department and grows alongside the child. Money in a Keystone Scholars account can be used for post-high school education expenses once a child turns 18 until their 29th birthday. The program uses no taxpayer dollars.

Families are encouraged to continue saving on their own by establishing a companion PA 529 account which can be linked to the child's Keystone Scholars account.

Since Keystone Scholars launched in 2019, Treasury has opened more than 813,000 accounts for Pennsylvania children. More than 11 percent of families have claimed their accounts. Of those families, more than 30 percent have opened a companion PA 529 account, a significant increase of more than five percent over the past year. Families with linked PA 529 accounts have already saved over $157 million for their children's future education.

Research shows that children with even a modest amount of savings are three times more likely to further their education after high school and four times more likely to graduate. Research also shows that programs like Keystone Scholars can provide:

• Improved social-emotional development for children;
• Reduced maternal depression; and
• Higher parental educational expectations.

Keystone Scholars is the first legislated, statewide, automatic, at-birth program of its kind in the country. Families receive information by mail from Treasury about five months after their child's birth with instructions on how to claim their account.

PA 529 accounts are designed to help Pennsylvania families steadily and strategically save for a wide variety of qualifying educational expenses, including those for technical schools, colleges and universities, K-12 education, and certain apprenticeships and credential programs. There are two PA 529 plans to choose from, the PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) and the PA 529 Investment Plan (IP).

Saving with either PA 529 plan provides state and federal tax benefits, including tax-free growth and tax-free qualified withdrawals. Additionally, Pennsylvanians can deduct up to $19,000 ($38,000 if married and filing jointly) in PA 529 contributions annually on their state income taxes. PA 529 accounts are not subject to state inheritance tax and do not impact eligibility for state financial aid.

There are currently more than 313,000 PA 529 accounts. Families have nearly $9 billion saved for future education expenses.

To claim your child's Keystone Scholars account, visit pa529.com/keystone.

To learn more about saving with PA 529, visit pa529.com or call 800-440-4000.