For more than 20 years, Virginia529 has helped thousands of families save for college by offering a program that allows them to prepay tuition and mandatory fees through Prepaid529.

And while Virginia529’s original mission remains intact --- rewarding and encouraging higher education savings with a tax-advantaged and market-protected savings vehicle --- families want college savings options that are affordable, flexible and easy to use.

The steep increase in the cost of higher education since Prepaid529 opened in 1996 has put the cost of these contracts out of reach for most Virginia families. That’s one of the reasons why Virginia529 leadership made the decision to permanently close Prepaid529 to new enrollment as of May 1, 2019.

Virginia529 is currently planning to launch a new, similar program, tentatively scheduled to be available in 2020, that would make prepaying college expenses affordable to Virginia families of all household income levels. The details are still being finalized.

In the meantime, current/existing contracts will retain the benefit structure in effect at the time of purchase, and installment payment plans are not affected. Virginia529’s award-winning 529 programs Invest529 and CollegeAmerica are also unaffected by the upcoming changes.

Virginia529 looks forward to continuing to help Virginia families with affordable and accessible 529 programs into the future. Sign up to receive updates on the new program Virginia529 is developing.