PRESS RELEASE
Treasurer Fitzpatrick Announces MOST 529 Education Plan Rated Among Top Plans in the Country for 2022
Jefferson City, MO –Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today
announced that MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, has again received a Silver
rating from Morningstar, an investment research company. Each year, Morningstar
assigns ratings to 54 education savings plans. Nationally, only 12 plans
received a Silver Medal rating, while two achieved Gold. “I have worked to make MOST 529
a strong, versatile, and cost effective education plan for Missourians. Today’s
announcement is a continued reflection of that work,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “When I came into office, plan
participants had not received a fee reduction in five years. I worked with our
program manager to ensure that fee reductions occurred on a schedule unrelated
to market-controlled benchmarks. This forward-thinking proposal ensured that
MOST plan participants received a fee reduction this year, despite market
turmoil. This, in addition to changes implemented by the legislature expanding eligible
uses for plan participants, means the plan is better suited to serve the needs
of Missourians and that participants will keep more of their investment
earnings in their 529 accounts, making it a little bit easier to save for
education.” In 2020, Treasurer
Fitzpatrick announced that MOST 529 Board 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. 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, apprenticeships, and graduate school tuition and expenses.
Additionally, up to $10,000 may be spent on student loan repayment.
Contributions are eligible for state tax deductions and money in MOST accounts
grows tax free. More information about MOST 529
can be found at MissouriMost.org. ### Follow the Treasurer’s Office on Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram @motreasurer.
