Embark Earns National 'High Honors' from Saving For College

Press Release · October 2, 2025

Embark Earns National 'High Honors' from Saving For College

The recognition as a top 529 plan signals that Embark is a strong option for Oregonians saving for education

After a banner year of contributions and continued focus on account holder engagement, Embark, formerly the Oregon College Savings Plan, has earned a 2025 "High Honors" Award from Saving For College, a respected national resource for 529 plans and education savings. Oregon's refundable tax credit for Embark contributions received the "Best" designation from Saving For College. This recognition highlights the plan's continued efforts to deliver a high-performing and user-friendly program for its participants.

Each year, Saving For College releases its annual 529 Ratings, evaluating plans across four key categories: Performance, Ease of Use, Savings Success, and Program Delivery. The 2025 ratings were refined to better capture 529 plan innovations, efforts to simplify investment choices, and overall program support.

"This award represents something far more meaningful than a ranking: it's about the trust of 143,000 families who've chosen us to help secure their children's financial future," said Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner. "Our mission is to make savings more accessible for every family, and we're proud to deliver a nationally recognized program right here in Oregon."

With over 25 years of experience, Saving For College aims to provide unbiased information to help families manage education expenses. The organization's research and tools help guide families in making well-informed decisions about saving and paying for education.

The Embark program offers an industry-leading set of investment options that allows savers to tailor investments and risk exposure based on the year the beneficiary is expected to enroll in education or training after high school. This feature, along with program delivery that supports investors in maximizing their savings, contributed to the "High Honors" recognition.

Oregon State Treasury is committed to helping more families start saving early for a financially secure future, as demonstrated by an announcement in May to quadruple the savings incentive for young families to help them get started on their savings journey. Oregon was also the first state to offer a refundable tax credit for education savings, empowering more families to start saving. Families can now receive a tax credit of up to $360 each year, or $6,480 over an 18-year savings journey.

The focus on accessibility and performance resulted in a strong year for Embark, which brought in more than $286 million in new contributions in 2024, closing the year with over $3.3 billion in assets under management.

Embark is the new name for the Oregon College Savings Plan. It is Oregon's trusted education savings plan, reimagined for real life. Embark makes it simple for families to save for whatever comes after high school, supporting a wide range of education paths, not just college. To learn more, visit embarksavings.com Upward Oregon is a statewide effort to make saving, planning, and dreaming easier for every Oregon family. Housed within Oregon State Treasury, Upward Oregon unites three existing savings programs under one roof, helping Oregon families save for education, retirement, and disability-related expenses. It's all about access, equity, and making financial wellness a reality. Oregon State Treasury improves the financial well-being of all Oregonians. We provide low-cost banking, debt management, and investment programs for governments and empower Oregonians to invest in themselves and their loved ones through the Oregon College Savings Plan, Oregon ABLE Savings Plan, and OregonSaves. Treasury also manages the state's Unclaimed Property Program.