Lt. Governor Mike Foley declared September to be College Savings Month in Nebraska and helped introduce the seventh Nebraska NEST Birthday Baby in a proclamation signing ceremony today in the Warner Chamber at the State Capitol.
Chloe Cox, daughter of Kate and Chris Cox of Lincoln, is the seventh Nebraska NEST Birthday Baby to receive a $529 contribution to a Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST) college savings account in honor of Nebraska’s 150th birthday. Nebraska NEST Birthday Babies has been designated a Legacy program of the Nebraska 150 Commission because of its long-lasting impact on families in Nebraska.
Chloe was born May 31 at Bryan Medical Center East. She has two older brothers, Gavin, 4, and Liam, 1 ½.
The proclamation signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts said, “It is in Nebraska’s best interest that access to post-secondary education, including community colleges and technical schools, be available for all our children and that encouraging parents to save for their children’s education promotes that public purpose.”
“September is a perfect time to reach out to young families to encourage them to start saving for their children’s higher education needs,” said Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg, Trustee of NEST. “As College Savings Month gets underway and as a new school year begins, at NEST we are looking for ways to encourage families to save and to make it as convenient as possible for them to get started with our excellent state-sponsored college savings program that offers significant tax advantages for Nebraskans.”
The Coxes said they plan to set up NEST accounts for both of their sons, as well as add to the account for Chloe. Both parents work for Nelnet and are graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Working in the job I am in, I know how many loans people have. College is expensive,” said Kate Cox. She said she and her husband would love their children to go to college, but also would be supportive of other choices like military service. “I would like them to make sure they know what they want to do and to choose wisely,” she said.
“The Nebraska NEST Birthday Baby drawing, as well as the other scholarships and giveaways we will announce this College Savings Month, offer great opportunities to boost college savings and raise awareness of the perks and benefits offered by the NEST 529 Plan,” said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director, Savings Plans, First National Bank of Omaha. “We encourage families to get involved and to keep college savings at the forefront of their thoughts this month.”
In the proclamation, Gov. Ricketts urged families and employers throughout Nebraska “to recognize the benefit of higher education” and urged “the families of Nebraska to begin savings for their children’s education through the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust.”
The full proclamation is available treasurer.nebraska.gov.
To celebrate Nebraska’s 150th birthday, NEST is selecting a parent or legal guardian of a Nebraska newborn each month of 2017 to receive a $529 contribution to a NEST account. The family is chosen through a random drawing of entries submitted online to the NEST website or by mail.
In all, 12 newborns and their parents or guardians will be recognized throughout the year. Other NEST Birthday Babies honored by the Treasurer’s Office, to date, are listed here:
Parents and legal guardians may enter Nebraska NEST Birthday Babies at www.NEST529.com/NewbornDrawing. Entries will be accepted until January 10, 2018, for babies born in 2017. To allow time for babies born in late December to be entered, the final drawing will take place in early 2018. If a family’s name isn’t drawn in the month the family enters, the name stays in the drawing throughout the year, giving families plenty of opportunities to be chosen.
Rules for the Nebraska NEST Birthday Babies can be found at www.NEST529.com/NewbornDrawing and here. Information about the Nebraska Sesquicentennial can be found at ne150.org.
About NEST
NEST is a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan and provides four plans to help make saving for college simple and affordable: NEST Direct College Savings Plan, the NEST Advisor College Savings Plan, the Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan, and the State Farm 529 Savings Plan. The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as Program Trustee. Union Bank & Trust Company serves as Program Manager, and all investments are approved by the Nebraska Investment Council. Families nationwide are saving for college using Nebraska’s 529 College Savings Plans, which have more than 285,000 accounts, including over 94,000 in Nebraska. Visit NEST529.com and treasurer.nebraska.gov for more information.
About First National Bank of Omaha
First National Bank of Omaha is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. First National of Nebraska and its affiliates have more than $23 billion in assets and 5,000 employee associates. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
