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You can set one up in your name now. When you have a kid, you can change it to their name. Or to a family member’s name. Or keep it in your name and go back to school.
It provides a lot of flexibility in this regard.
You could just set it up for yourself and transfer funds to a child account later or change the beneficiary on the account later. I would make sure you have your retirement accounts in order before planning for child’s college.
Helpful. But I’m looking for more info on pros/cons..
Why is this kind of tax advantaged account better/worse than a retirement account? Is there any context in which I’d want this vs. a 401K or ROTH? Why/why not?
My point above was to make sure you have your retirement accounts in order first. I would use it ahead of 401k, IRA or HSA, if your plan is to use it for an investment account. You may get a state benefit and gains are tax free if used for education. Otherwise you would pay tax on gains. If you are using it for education of kids, prioritize your retirement first. If you are using it for your education and are confident you will use it, it is probably better than just using funds from a brokerage account
Maybe I’m not understanding things… but it almost seemed to me like a 529 is like a ROTH (grow taxed money, tax-free) with a trade-off (instead of an age restriction on when $$ can get pulled out, now it’s a category limitation)
You don’t get a federal or state deduction for a Roth IRA. So a 529 used for education is better than a Roth IRA if you live in a state that gives a deduction
Whether it makes sense to open a 529 depends on the state where you live!!
The state benefit is nice but not the only reason to use it. Even without a deduction it is very useful.