Columbia, South Carolina – State Treasurer Curtis Loftis has reinstated the PalmettoBaby Grant Program to mark National 529 Day. Observed annually on May 29 (5/29), serves as a reminder of the simplicity of starting savings for a child’s future educational needs.
“Each year, I like to remind South Carolina families about our award-winning Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan that can help them save for their loved ones’ future education,” said Treasurer Loftis. “We are pleased to offer privately funded $529 grants to the parents of every South Carolina baby born on May 29 in hopes that we are helping set these new babies on a course for lifelong saving.”
Since 2012, the State Treasurer’s Office has collaborated with hospitals throughout South Carolina to highlight the significance of saving for college via the PalmettoBaby Grant Program. Additionally, parents who have their children on May 29 will receive a Future Scholar goody bag. This bag contains details about the state’s highly acclaimed 529 college savings plan, along with the $529 college savings grant.
To qualify for the PalmettoBaby grant, parents of newborns on May 29 need to fill out the grant application and open a Future Scholar account by September 3, 2024.
The Future Scholar plan offers a way for families to save for their children’s future educational costs. It includes benefits like tax-deductible contributions from state income taxes, tax-free growth, and tax-free distributions for qualified educational expenses. The funds from Future Scholar 529 can be used for expenses like K-12 tuition, trade schools, registered apprenticeship programs, and even student loan repayment.
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For more details about the PalmettoBaby Grant Program and its requirements, visit FutureScholar.com/PalmettoBaby. Managed by the State Treasurer’s Office, Future Scholar is South Carolina’s 529 College Savings Plan and currently manages over $6 billion in assets. It has helped over 225,000 South Carolinians in saving for educational expenses. Future Scholar operates independently and does not use taxpayer dollars. For further information, check out FutureScholar.com or the @SCStateTreasurer page on Facebook.
