Products July 12, 2003

Washington State Taps ICMA-RC for 529 Plan

December 19, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Washington state officials have given preliminary approval for the ICMA Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC) to manage its new college savings plan, ICMA-RC announced.
Reported by

The approval is for a 10-year contract to administer the state’s 529 college savings program, which is expected to start taking applications next summer.

ICMA-RC will be offering two ways to open a 529 plan: directly through ICMA Retirement Corporation or through financial advisers.

In the program sold directly through the ICMA-RC, there are three tiers of available funds representing 24 investment choices:

  • age-based funds
  • model portfolio funds
  • individual fund choices.

In addition to covering tuition, 529 plan proceeds can also be used to pay for room and board, books, and other educational expenses.

ICMA Retirement Corporation already manages $2.6 billion in retirement plans for Washington state teachers and some state workers. Nationally, the Washington, D.C.-based ICMA-RC administers $15 billion in retirement funds for over 600,000 public employees.

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