Virginia 529

Choose a portfolio that suits your risk tolerance and investment horizon

Account owners may choose from age-based evolving portfolios and non-evolving portfolios. Each portfolio invests in one or more mutual funds or separate accounts managed by a variety of investment managers and vary according to risk and potential growth.

Age-based evolving portfolios are designed to take into account the beneficiary's current age and the number of years before the beneficiary is expected to need funds from the account for higher education expenses. Account owners may choose to invest in an age-based portfolio other than the one that corresponds to the beneficiary's age. The asset allocations of the age-based portfolios (except for the Piedmont portfolio) shift every three years toward that of the Piedmont portfolio (100% stable value), which is designed to help reduce the risk of principal loss.

Prospective account owners should read the entire Program Guide, the Program Description, and the VEST Account Agreement and Application. Seek the advice of an attorney or tax professional concerning any financial, tax or legal implications related to opening a VEST account. The Virginia College Savings Plan cannot provide tax, legal or financial advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and returns.

You have the opportunity throughout the year to open multiple VEST accounts for the same beneficiary in different portfolios. Account owners may change investment options once every calendar year, or whenever the beneficiary is changed. For those who own multiple VEST accounts or, in addition to their VEST account(s), own a CollegeAmerica and/or CollegeWealth account for the same beneficiary, these accounts will be aggregated for this investment change rule. This means that only one investment option change request will be accepted per calendar year for all of your accounts for the same beneficiary. The investment option change request can be for one or more of the individual accounts you hold for the same beneficiary so long as requests for multiple accounts are submitted at the same time. Once an investment change is made, any future subsequent investment change in any account owned by you for the same beneficiary in VEST, CollegeAmerica or CollegeWealth within the same calendar year will be treated as a distribution and be subject to the applicable tax penalties. Transfers to or from VEST and CollegeAmerica or CollegeWealth are considered investment option changes.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and returns. See Performance (PDF) to view portfolio performance over the past several years.

No guarantee of future performance

The Virginia College Savings Plan does not guarantee the future performance of any VEST portfolio. Just like any investment in stocks and bonds, the performance can vary widely depending on market conditions. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Your investment is not guaranteed

Like any other investment in stocks and bonds, VEST accounts can potentially lose principal due to market losses, and earnings are not guaranteed to cover any particular higher education cost. However, some of the portfolios have been designed with the age of the beneficiary in mind, which may reduce the risk of principal and earnings losses as the student gets closer to college. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and returns. See Perfomance to portfolio performance over the past several years.

Savings may be used to pay for tuition, fees, room and board, supplies and special needs services

VEST account benefits may be withdrawn in order to pay for the beneficiary's tuition, required fees, certain room and board costs (for students who are enrolled at least half time) and required books, supplies and equipment, including computers if required, and special needs services.

Where it can be used

VEST account distributions can be used at any eligible educational institution, which includes any accredited college, university, graduate school, for-profit vocational or technical school that is eligible to participate in U.S. Department of Education student financial aid programs.

Account owners and beneficiaries may determine the eligibility of a specific higher education institution by visiting the Federal Student Aid website.

Who is eligible

There are no age restrictions with a VEST account, although the beneficiary must have been born at the time the account is opened. If you are 55 years old, and decide you want to go to college when you are 60, you can open a VEST account and start saving for yourself. The account owner does not have to be related to the beneficiary. Account owners and beneficiaries must be U.S. citizens or legal residents.