The job of managing the program’s assets will fall to Maryland Treasurer Derek Davis when new legislation takes effect June 1, eliminating the 529 Maryland institutions that oversaw the college savings program.
The job of managing the program’s assets will fall to Maryland Treasurer Derek Davis when new legislation takes effect June 1, eliminating the 529 Maryland institutions that oversaw the college savings program.
Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill into law in a ceremony at the Maryland State Capitol on Monday.
It is Mr. Davis’ job to resolve any issues that arise under the control of the prepaid trust. He told WTOP that work will begin as soon as possible to sort out the issues reported by account holders.
“I know people depend on this money” to pay for college tuition now and in the future, Davis said. repeated.
In March, parents told state legislators at a hearing in Annapolis that their children’s dream of a college savings account turned into a nightmare as accounts were locked out and interest payments stopped. In some cases, parents reported thousands of dollars in expected interest evaporated because then-administrators of Maryland’s 529 program said it was a miscalculation .
This is scary This is terrifying,” Victoria Sansone told a member of the Senate committee that she has a daughter graduating this year and triplets graduating next year.
Sansone said he invested more than $167,000 in the program ten years ago. Sansone, who reiterated that from 2024 she will have four children at once in college in the 2025 academic year, told lawmakers: I need your help to fix this and get my money back. please. “
Now that Moore has signed the bill, parents are waiting to see what they can do.
Asked about account holders skeptical about what the Treasury could help, Davis told WTOP: All I ask is for them to judge me on what my office did after we managed the program. ”
At the same March hearing where parents testified about their concerns about savings plans, Davis asked for “time and patience” to work toward resolving account holders.
Davis told WTOP:
One parent told legislators that if they needed to get into the state’s rainy day fund to cheer them up, they should. Just because it wasn’t included, it’s out of the question.”
While finances are being sorted out, Davis said his office has reached out to colleges, particularly those in Maryland, to “be flexible with account holders knowing this money is on the way. We will see if we can do that,” he said.
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