WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - As high school students get ready for back to school, their parents are gearing up for the formidable task of paying for college. In releasing its 10th Annual State of College Savings survey of parents across the country, in which the majority of respondents have at least one child aged 14-18, the College Savings Foundation (CSF) offers a window into the realistic choices that families are grappling with in the years prior to starting to pay for higher education. For charts and graphs see http://bit.ly/2byvTxQ
The vast majority of parents (88%) are planning to help fund their children's college education. Among those who are planning to help, 32% said that savings is the number one way that they plan to pay for college costs. 32% of all respondents own a 529 college savings plan.
The survey found that 67% of parents were already saving; and among them, three-quarters had already saved more than $5,000 per child.
"We are encouraged to see that parents are prioritizing savings in the years immediately prior to college," said CSF Chair Mary Morris. "At the same time, we know that most need to employ a variety of strategies to access funds and reduce college costs."
As examples of other sources of funding:
- 44% of parents plan to borrow to finance their children's college, with education loans as the dominant source (74%).
- 65% expect their children to get financial aid, with 74% in the form of grants and scholarships.
- All people are able to save in 529 plans regardless of income (40% ranked as number one)
- Provide incentives for employers to help employees save in 529s (29%)
- Unused funds saved in 529s should be eligible for rollover into IRAs (20%)
- Allow 529 contributions to be eligible for the current Saver's Credit (13%)
The CSF State of College Savings survey of parents was conducted through survey monkey with an audience from ResearchNow of 800 parents across the country.
The College Savings Foundation (CSF) is a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit organization helping American families save for higher education. http://www.collegesavingsfoundation.org
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13616856.htm