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The state treasurer’s office oversees the MOST College savings plan--that’s a tuition savings program for Missourians. Treasurer Clint Zweifel stopped by KSMU to talk about the program with Jennifer Moore. He started by explaining what MOST is, exactly, and why he thinks people should be thinking about it this time of year.
“MOST is a 529 plan. It’s a great way to save for college in Missouri for two reasons. First of all, it’s tax deductible. You get an immediate tax deduction when you make that contribution. But also, that money grows tax-free over time. So it’s really the power of compounding over that period of time,” Zweifel said.
The Treasurer said this is the time of year people take stock of their finances, and that saving for college should be part of that.
“I was the first person in my family to go to college and graduate for college,” Zweifel said.
“One of the ways we can help make it more affordable and more accessible is helping parents save for college. And MOST is a great way to do that. You can actually open up an account with as little as 25 dollars,” he said.
Those who use the MOST plan can choose between different plans, according to how much risk they are willing to tolerate in their investing.
One of the plans is an aged-based plan. Zweifel said that is what he uses for his own children.
“You decide upon your risk level that you’re willing to tolerate—whether you’d be conservative or moderate or aggressive—and then that changes over time as your children get older, to more liquid investments and safer investments. So it really does the work for you. You just have to have the discipline and the fortune of being able to set aside a few dollars each month,” he said.
For more information, you can go to www.missourimost.org or www.treasurer.mo.gov.
***TAG: Again, that was the Missouri state Treasurer, Clint Zweifel, speaking to KSMU’s Jennifer Moore about the Missouri Saving for Tuition Program, or MOST.
