There are a number of ways to save money for your child’s education. Two of the more popular options are a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) and a state-sponsored college savings plan commonly referred to as 529 plans. Both help parents and grandparents accumulate the money needed to pay for a child’s college education.

Similarities:

  • You control how assets are invested.
  • Contributions are non-tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
  • Earnings grow tax deferred.
  • Funds may be withdrawn free of federal income tax if used for qualified education expenses.
  • Account carries tax or other benefits, which may be conditioned on meeting certain requirements.
  • Assets can be transferred to another member of the family if the intended beneficiary doesn’t attend college or doesn’t use all of the assets.
  • Assets held within a 529 plan or an ESA may also affect your child’s access to financial aid.

Differences:

Coverdell ESA

  • Has a contribution limit of $2,000 per year.
  • The contribution deadline is the tax filing date for that year, not including extensions.
  • Has adjusted gross income (AGI) phase-out levels for eligible contributors of $190,000 to $220,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns.
  • Must be used or distributed by a beneficiary prior to becoming 30 years old. (The assets are deemed distributed and are subject to all taxes and penalties 30 days after the beneficiary turns 30.)
  • Assets may be withdrawn for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses. That includes tuition to public or private schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade, as well as computers and educational software
  • Is more flexible in terms of the types of securities and choice of fund companies in which contributions can be invested (such as mutual funds, individual stocks, or bonds).

State 529 Plan

  • Has contribution limits which are set by the state offering the plan, sometimes as much as $360,000, and there is no income limit for contributors.
  • The federal government allows yearly contributions from single taxpayers of up to $13,000 (increases to $14,000 in 2013) or a lump sum of $65,000 ($70,000 in 2013) in the first year of a 5-year period to avoid gift-tax consequences.
  • Married couples may contribute up to $26,000 (increases to $28,000 in 2013) per year or $130,000 ($140,000 in 2013) in a lump sum for that first year contribution.
  • There is no age limit on the use of 529 plan assets.
  • Assets of a 529 plan may only be used for eligible expenses at accredited public or private colleges and universities.
  • The state offering a 529 plan has portfolios administered by investment companies.
  • Investors can change portfolios once every 12 months and after a change of the primary beneficiary.
  • Investors have the ability to invest in any of a number of state plans in order to find a portfolio that most closely fits their objectives.
  • Proceeds generally do not have to be used to pay educational expenses in the state offering the plan, but some states do offer benefits for investing in your home state’s 529 plan.
  • Assets may only be invested in the portfolios offered by the state-sponsored plan in which you participate.

Take some time to explore both possibilities with your neighborhood State Farm® Agent who can guide you through the details of each plan and help you save for the future education needs of your family.

Get the answers you’re looking for. Call, click or stop by your registered State Farm Agent’s office today or speak with a Securities Products representative by calling 1-800-447-4930.

Risk Disclosures

Investing involves risk, including potential for loss.

Before investing in a 529 plan, consider the plans investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact the plan issuer for an official statement containing this and other information.  Read it carefully.

An investor should consider, before investing, whether the investor’s or designated beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state’s qualified tuition program.

Earnings must be used to pay for qualified higher education expenses to be federally tax free. The earnings portion of a nonqualified withdrawal will be subject to ordinary income tax at the recipient's marginal rate and subject to a 10% penalty. State Farm does not provide tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for specific information about your tax situation, including any state tax consequences of an investment. The availability of such tax or other benefits may be conditioned on meeting certain requirements.

A $65,000 gift is viewed as an accelerated gift over five years. Any other gifts to the same beneficiary by the contributor in that tax year or in any of the succeeding four years may result in a federal gift-tax liability. If the contributor dies within the five-year period, a prorated portion of the contribution may be included in his or her taxable estate.

Additional Disclosures

Mutual Funds Disclosures

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Contact State Farm VP Management Corp (1-800-447-4930) for a prospectus or summary prospectus containing this and other information. Read it carefully.

General

Automatic investment plans do not assure a profit or protect against loss.

Neither State Farm nor its agents provide investment, tax, or legal advice.

It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

State Farm VP Management Corp. is a separate entity from those State Farm entities which provide banking and insurance products.

As of June 2nd, 2010, additional fees may apply to certain accounts with balances less than $5000.

Each State Farm LifePath Fund invests all of its assets in a corresponding LifePath Master Portfolio under a master/feeder structure. BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) is the investment advisor to the LifePath Master Portfolios. State Farm Investment Management Corp. (SFIMC) is the investment advisor to the State Farm LifePath Funds. State Farm VP Management Corp. (SFVPMC) is the distributor of the State Farm LifePath Funds. Neither SFIMC or SFVPMC, or their affiliates, are affiliated with BFA or its affiliates.

BlackRock Investors Services (BIS) provides marketing support to the LifePath Master Portfolios. BFA and BIS are wholly owned subsidiaries of BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”). Neither BTC or its affiliates are affiliated with State Farm. BTC is located at 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) is the investment sub-advisor to the S&P 500 Index Fund.

Ascensus provides recordkeeping and administrative services for retail 401(k) retirement plans offered by State Farm Investment Management Corp.

Net Asset Value (NAV) is calculated by adding all of the assets of a Fund, subtracting the Fund’s liabilities, then dividing by the number of outstanding shares.

Money market mutual fund data is not available for funds other than the State Farm Money Market Fund.

Indices

The Russell 2000® Index tracks the common stock performance of the 2,000 smallest U.S. companies in the Russell 3000® Index.

The Russell 2500 Index tracks the 2,500 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index.

The Russell 1000 Index is a stock market index that represents the highest-ranking 1,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index.

The Russell Midcap Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the US equity market and is a subset of the Russell 1000 Index.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an unmanaged average of 30 actively traded stocks.

The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged market capitalization weighted index that is designed to represent the performance of the National Market System.

The S&P 500® Index tracks the common stock performance of 500 large U.S. companies.

The S&P 1500 Index is a stock market index of U.S. stock that includes all stocks in the large cap S&P 500 Index, the mid cap S&P 400 Index, and the small cap S&P 600 Index.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia and Far East Free (EAFE® Free) Index currently measures the performance of stock markets of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed market equity performance in Europe.

The Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Treasury Index measures the performance of short-term U.S. Treasury Securities maturing within one to five years.

The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index represents debt securities in the U.S. investment grade fixed rate bond market.

The Barclays Municipal Bond Index is an unmanaged index representative of the tax-exempt bond market.

The Barclays High Yield Index includes all fixed income securities having a maximum quality rating from Moody’s Investor Service of Ba1, a minimum amount outstanding of $100 million, and at least one year to maturity.

The Barclays TIPS Index measures the performance of the US Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) market.

The Citigroup 3 Month T-Bill Index is an average of the last 3-month Treasury bill issues (excluding the current month-end bill).

The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed REIT and Non-Reit Index is a subset of the Developed Index, which is designed to track the performance of listed real estate companies and REITS worldwide.

The MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets.

The Nikkei 225 Index is a price-weighted index comprised of Japan’s top 225 blue-chip companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Credit Suisse High Yield Index is designed to mirror the investible universe of the $U.S. – Denominated high yield debt market.

The New York Stock Exchange is considered the largest equities-based exchange in the world based on total market capitalization of its listed securities.

The CBOE 10-Year Treasury Note (TNX) is based on 10 times the yield-to-maturity on the most recently auctioned 10-year Treasury note. The notes are usually auctioned every three months following the refunding cycle: February, May, August and November. The expiration period of these notes is three near-term months plus three additional months from the March quarterly cycle. The aggregate position and exercise limits are 25,000 contracts on the same side of the market.

The Blended Benchmark for the Equity and Bond Fund is a combination of 60% of the S&P 500 Index and 40% of the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, rebalanced monthly.

The Blended Benchmark for the LifePath Funds is a combination of the holdings in the Barclays U.S Aggregate Bond Index, Russell 1000 Index, MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Index, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index and Barclays TIPS Index. The weightings of the indices are adjusted quarterly to reflect the funds' changing asset allocations over time.

Trademarks

iShares and LifePath®, LifePath 2020®, LifePath 2030®, LifePath 2040®, and LifePath 2050® are all registered trademarks of BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. All other trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

“Standard & Poor’s®”, “S&P®”, “S&P 500®”, “Standard and Poor’s 500”, and “500” are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by State Farm Life Insurance Company, State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company and the State Farm Variable Product Trust. Neither the Large Cap Equity Index Fund nor the Stock and Bond Balanced Fund is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor’s, and Standard & Poor’s makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Large Cap Equity Index Fund or the Stock and Bond Balanced Fund.

The Russell 2000® Index is a trademark/service mark, and Russell™ is a trademark of the Frank Russell Company. The Small Cap Equity Index Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by, nor in any way affiliated with the Frank Russell Company. Frank Russell Company is not responsible for and has not reviewed the Small Cap Equity Index Fund nor any associated literature or publications and Frank Russell Company makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to their accuracy, or completeness, or otherwise.

The EAFE® Free Index is a trademark, service mark and the exclusive property of Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. (“MSCI”) and its affiliates and has been licensed for use by the State Farm Variable Product Trust (the “Trust”). The International Equity Index Fund (the “Fund”), based on the EAFE® Free Index, has not been passed on by MSCI as to its legality or suitability, and is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MSCI. MSCI makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the Fund. MSCI has no responsibility for and does not participate in the management of the Fund assets or sale of the Fund shares. The Trust’s Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with the Trust and the Fund.

Non-US Residents

Each of the investment products and services referred to on the State Farm Mutual Funds web site is intended to be made available to customers or prospective customers residing in the United States. The customer’s U.S. permanent residence address must be a street address. This web site shall not be considered a solicitation or offering for any investment product or service to any person in any jurisdiction where such solicitation or offer would be unlawful.

Business Continuity Plan

State Farm VP Management Corp. has developed a Business Continuity Plan on how we will respond to events that significantly disrupt our business. Since the timing and impact of disasters and disruptions is unpredictable, we will have to be flexible in responding to actual events as they occur. With that in mind, download this information (PDF 27 KB) on our business continuity plan.

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