A 529 plan is an investment account that allows earnings to grow free from federal and state income tax when funds are used for qualified educational expenses including books, fees, supplies and tuition at universities, community colleges or trade schools.   

Though there are many state 529 plans to choose from, if you open a California ScholarShare 529 account, the City can wire transfer your contributions and incentives saved with K2C directly into your ScholarShare 529 account.    

Check out planning and saving for college and comparison tools on California Scholarshare’s website as you weigh your options.   

ScholarShare 529 is administered by the ScholarShare Investment Board, which is chaired by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Since its launch in 1999, ScholarShare 529 has helped thousands of families save for a higher education and has grown its total plan assets to almost $10.5 billion as of September 2020.   

CA 529 ScholarShare Brochures: 

• English 

• Spanish 

• Learn more about the California 529 College Savings Plan, its investment objectives, tax benefits, risks, and costs, please see the Plan Description at www.ScholarShare529.com. Read it carefully. 
   

• Check with your home state to learn if it offers tax or other benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds or protection from creditors for investing in its own 529 plan. Consult your legal or tax professional for tax advice. 
   

• Investments in the Plan are neither insured nor guaranteed and there is the risk of investment loss.
   

• If the funds aren't used for qualified higher education expenses, a 10% penalty tax on earnings (as well as federal and state income taxes) may apply. Non-qualified withdrawals may also be subject to an additional 2.5% California tax on earnings.  
   

• The treatment of investments in a 529 savings plan varies by school. Assets are typically treated as the account holder’s and not the student’s. (Student assets are generally assessed at 20% whereas parental assets are generally assessed at 5.6%.) Any investments, including those in 529 accounts, may affect the student's eligibility to get financial aid based on need. You should check with the schools you are considering regarding this issue. 

K2C is managed by the City and County of San Francisco. We have multilingual support available and are available Monday to Friday 8 am to 5pm.

To get your questions answered,

• Join Zoom office hours (Tuesday 4-5pm in English & Thursdays 9:30am-10:30am in Spanish), 
• Email k2c@sfgov.org or call 311 (415-701-2311 outside of San Francisco).
• For CA ScholarShare specific questions, you can call 1-800-544-5248 (Monday – Friday, 8:00AM to 7:00PM PT) and visit www.ScholarShare.com or their Spanish specific site www.ScholarShare-Espanol.com 
• California's Child Savings Account Coalition developed key financial terms including 529 accounts and investments in English and Spanish.