Treasurer Stacy Garrity Announces Chance to Double Education Deposits for Lycoming County Families

Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced today the opportunity to double education savings for the first 95 Lycoming County families who claim their Keystone Scholars accounts and open their own PA 529 College and Career Savings Program (PA 529) accounts during November. These families will receive an extra $50 deposit made possible by Miele Manufacturing in partnership with the River Valley Regional YMCA. This is in addition to a $50 statewide incentive also running throughout November.

"Our November incentive for Keystone Scholars and PA 529 is a tremendous opportunity for Lycoming County families to begin saving for their children's future educational expenses. This incentive will not last long, so I encourage Lycoming County families to act quickly so they can receive as much money as possible from our savings programs! Families who have a Keystone Scholars account, even if they don't know it, are eligible to double their savings, receiving $200 that will grow alongside their child and help with future education expenses."

Keystone Scholars provides $100 scholarship accounts for every child born in 2019 and after, while PA 529 accounts help families save for future college and career education expenses. The first 95 families in Lycoming County who claim their child's Keystone Scholars account and open a companion PA 529 account in November will receive two additional $50 deposits.

Money in Keystone Scholars accounts grows through Treasury investment and can be used to cover post-high school education expenses once a child turns 18 until their 29th birthday. The program uses no taxpayer dollars.

Treasury has opened more than 834,000 Keystone Scholars accounts with assets now totaling over $83 million. More than 11 percent of families have claimed their accounts, and more than 30 percent of these families have opened a companion PA 529 account. Families with linked PA 529 accounts have saved more than $170 million for their children's future education.

Research shows that children with a modest amount of savings are three times more likely to pursue higher education after high school and four times more likely to graduate. Programs like Keystone Scholars can provide improved social-emotional development for children, reduce maternal depression and increase 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. In addition to the initial $100 scholarship provided by Treasury, Keystone Scholars accounts are designated to accept funds from community organizations, employers, and other groups as demonstrated by Miele Manufacturing and the River Valley Regional YMCA.

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 and the PA 529 Investment Plan.

There are currently more than 323,000 PA 529 accounts. Families have more than $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.