Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg and First National Bank of Omaha today announced improvements to the NEST 529 Advisor College Savings Plan, effective August 27, 2017, to simplify the Plan’s structure and reduce costs. The changes include lowering the total asset-based fees for the majority of the Age-Based and Static Investment Options, reducing the Class A Up-Front Sales Load, and implementing a feature to reduce the life-time cost to the account owner invested in Class C. The Maximum Contribution Limit also has been raised from $360,000 to $400,000.
“The NEST 529 Advisor Plan is recognized industry-wide as a low-cost, high performing plan with excellent investment choices,” said Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg. “These changes will enhance the Plan and have the potential to yield even better performance in the future for account owners.”
Highlights of the changes are as follows:
Class A Conversion:
Sales Load Reductions: Beginning August 27, 2017, new contributions investing in Class A will be charged a maximum of 3.50 percent, which can be reduced further based on the account owner’s aggregated asset amount.
Streamlined Breakpoint Schedule for Rights of Accumulation and Letter of Intent:
Annual Asset-Based Fee Reduction: The cost has been reduced in 75 percent of the Age-Based portfolios and two of the three Static portfolios.
Increased Maximum Contribution Limit: The Maximum Contribution Limit was increased from $360,000 to $400,000. Contributions can be made when the value of all accounts in the Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust for the same beneficiary is less than $400,000.
“Our mission is to support account owners and to help them maximize their college savings to meet their higher education savings goals,” said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director, Savings Plans, First National Bank of Omaha. “These changes will help our advisors nationwide to provide their clients with a low cost, simple solution to saving for college. It will also ensure the account owner pays the lowest available fees.”
For more information about NEST, visit NEST529.com and the Nebraska State Treasurer's Office About the Plans page.
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.
