McRae: College AND Career Savings
Note: The following column is provided by Mississippi State Treasurer David McRae. Any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of this publication.
By: Treasurer David McRae
One of the roles I have as your State Treasurer is to run the state’s 529 education savings program, which allows individuals and families to fund educational expenses for future learning opportunities. If you’ve been tracking us closely, you may have noticed our recent name change from College Savings Mississippi to Mississippi College and Career Savings. This change was made to better reflect our mission and the capabilities we have to help Mississippians.
Our team continues to help families financially prepare for a four-year college career, but we’re now able to do much more than that. Our savings programs can also be used at any of Mississippi’s community colleges, for apprenticeship programs, and other career programs outside the traditional four-year university system. My team’s goal is to help as many students as possible reduce their financial burden as they plan for their future education and careers.
To this end, we have two programs that could help you and your family. The first is MPACT. This plan lets families lock in today’s tuition rates and pre-pay their child’s college tuition. We have plans for both four-year institutions and Mississippi’s two-year community colleges. You can learn more at treasury.ms.gov/mpact.
The second program is called MACS. This program operates just like a savings account. You put money in, you have the opportunity to earn interest, and you take the money out. The biggest difference is that you can get some tax advantages by investing in MACS rather than a traditional savings account. The money saved here can be used for a variety of educational expenses – from a laptop to an apprenticeship program or certification class. You may not know but our MACS program can even be used for K-12 private school and supplies for your teacher’s classroom. For more information, visit treasury.ms.gov/macs.
Mississippi’s 529 educational savings programs are designed to help folks at any age and any stage of life. Whether you’re preparing to start a career or getting ready to change a career, please reach out to see if we can help you save.
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $85 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
