Talk:529 plan/Archives/2013

Questionable info in " Valuing Children, Knowledge and Money" reference

I am changing the comments associated with the "Valuing Children, Knowledge and Money" reference from Southern California InFocus magazine. The Wikipedia contributor is misunderstanding the author of the reference (who writes in an over-simplified style). Contrary to what the wikipedian thought was being said, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 did not "make 529 plans permanent". Instead, it permanently extended the federal tax free status of distributions to beneficiaries, which previously was due to expire in 2010.[1].

The InFocus reference is useful because it refers to the lack of socially responsible investment options, in this particular case for Muslim investors. Thus my edits. technopilgrim 07:42, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Why is it considered a disadvantage of the 529 plans that Muslim investors have no options. Perhaps that's a disadvatage of Muslim banking principles and not of the 529 plans. (On another note, one could say that one of the disadvantages of the 529 plans is that plan documents are not available in Japanese. Maybe that inconveniences someone; but surely it is not a disadvantage of the 529 plan itself.) 76.19.47.245 15:37, 27 October 2007 (UTC)CpT

The article is saying that one of the disadvantages of the 529 plan at the moment is that there aren't a huge range of choices available to investors, so it may not fit in with their investment strategies - and it uses the lack of options suitable for people who follow Muslim investment principles as an example. I think the assertion could use more general references as support, but narrow provision is a reasonable disadvantage to highlight in general. -- SiobhanHansa 16:01, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Article fails to cover list of eligible expenses

I find the article incomplete since it fails to specifically itemize a detailed and complete list of the eligible "qualified higher education expenses" that 529 plans allow.71.34.139.140 20:50, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Link to list of plans/etc.

I've undone the changes made by SiobhanHansa for two reasons: (a) It seems odd to me that a page devoted to 529 plans would not at least link to a list of 529 savings plans and tuition plans (since those comprehensive lists are finite and relatively small), and (b) it seems odd to get rid of three of the four references (all legitimate) on a page that should be much more highly refed. (Just because a source has the word blog in the name does not make it an illegitimate source, particularly on financial topics; e.g. Bank Deals Blog, the most comprehensive source for CD rates on the Internet by anyone's standard.) If you'd like to use a source for that information other than 529 Plans Blog, I think that's potentially a good decision (dependent on the site), but I haven't been able to find that information elsewhere in that concise and complete of a format. (At most websites with this information, you'd have to you'd have to click on a state, then click on the page for the plan, then finally click on the website for the plan.)

I'll work on the next couple days to source some of the rest of the 529 page, since it clearly needs it.

By the way, the previous changes to the page were mine; I just neglected to sign in. My apologies. --My man manny (talk) 18:51, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi Manny. A listing of 529 plans doesn't seem unreasonable to me since it's a fairly small and finite number. I thought that was provided at the collegesavings.org site hence removal of other sites that repeated information. The 529Site as an external link has far too much advertising and no reputation as a source of information on this subject though so one of the other sites that provides this info would be better.

As to reliable sources - you seem to have misunderstood our policies and guidelines. Just because you've found information at a site that you cannot find in other places in the format you like does not make it an appropriate source. It's not simply the fact the site has "blog" in the name that makes it unsuitable - it's the fact that there is nothing about the site to indicates it is reliable. Who is the publisher? What are their qualifications? What's the fact checking regime like? What's the acknowledged reputation of the site? It appears to be a self published site created less than a week ago whose main purpose appears to be to generate ad sense revenue. That's not a place to source information for an encyclopedia article. If you have found this information referenced from more reliable sources then I suggest you use those - references would be great but building up an article from sources that are not reliable is not a good substitute. It is not in keeping with either our reliable sources or external links guidelines. -- SiobhanHansa 19:05, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

disadvantages

as a parent starting to go thru this, one problem with 529 plans is that they are complicated - thus it is easy to get cheated (this is a general phenomenon in finance: extra choice does not help consumers, it confuses them and makes them easy prey for people who are unscrupulous). I don't know to put this into encylopediac form tho - any help ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cinnamon colbert (talk • contribs) 17:44, 27 June 2009 (UTC)