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Jefferson City, MO –Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today announced that MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, has received a Silver rating from Morningstar, an investment research company. Each year, Morningstar assigns ratings to education savings plans based on cost, performance, tax benefits, and oversight. Nationally, only 11 plans received a Silver rating, while three achieved Gold. 

“Over the past two years I have worked to make the MOST 529 Education Plan more cost effective and beneficial for Missourians. Today’s announcement is a reflection of that work,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “When I came into office, Missourians had not received a fee reduction in five years. In June, I announced a contract extension with our program manager that reduces fees three times over the next five years, resulting in over $8 million in savings for program participants. This new agreement means that plan participants will keep more of their investment earnings in their 529 account, making it a little bit easier for Missourians to save for education.”

"The state’s industrious approach to overseeing this 529 plan earns it a High Parent Pillar rating,” Morningstar wrote in its plan review. “The treasurer’s office has consistently lobbied for improvements and implemented best practices on behalf of plan participants.”

In June, Treasurer Fitzpatrick announced that at the MOST 529 Board Meeting, members voted to approve a contract amendment with program manager Ascensus. The contract amendment extended the contract period while guaranteeing program management fee reductions—taking the fees from the current level of 19 Basis Points (bp) to 16bp immediately, and 14bp over five years, a reduction of over 26%. This reduction means over $8 million in savings for plan participants. The contract amendment went into effect July 1. The prior contract was signed in 2015 by former Treasurer Clint Zweifel.

           MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, is a tax-advantaged savings plan for education expenses. Money in MOST accounts can be used to pay for K-12 tuition, and trade, college, and graduate school tuition and expenses. Contributions are eligible for state tax deductions, which can save families up to $864 a year, and assets in MOST 529 accounts grow tax free. 

There are currently more than 162,000 active accounts with over $3.5 billion assets under management. 

More information about MOST 529 can be found at MissouriMost.org. 

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