Treasurer Stacy Garrity Visits Höganäs in Somerset County
Manufacturer offers employees a match for contributions to PA 529 accounts
Hollsopple, PA - Treasurer Stacy Garrity today visited Höganäs, the world’s leading manufacturer of metal powders for powder metallurgy, to celebrate this year’s 529 Day promotion and to encourage families to save for their child’s education with the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program.
Höganäs has three facilities in Pennsylvania: Hollsopple, Johnstown, and St. Marys. It offers an additional discretionary contribution to those employees who elect to contribute a minimum of $25 per month to their PA 529 accounts.
“Visiting Höganäs is the perfect way to help spread the word about how impactful the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program is for hardworking Pennsylvania families – and how great this year’s 529 Day promotion is. Their amazing team clearly understands the importance of PA 529 accounts, because they’re going above and beyond to encourage employees to save for education. I congratulate Höganäs for offering their employees a remarkable benefit, and I encourage other employers to follow their lead.”
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity
“As part our of core values, our employees are critical to our success at Höganäs. We feel it is an important responsibility to provide our employees with quality benefits. Part of that offer is to provide the necessary tools to successfully navigate the challenges of financial planning. The PA 529 program is a vital tool in planning for higher education, which benefits our employees, their families and society as a whole.”
President of North American Höganäs Dean Howard
This year’s 529 Day promotion offers three top awards of $5,529, enough to cover a full year of tuition at a Pennsylvania community college. The promotion started May 1 and continues through the end of the month.
Families who open and contribute at least $10 to a new PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) account between May 1 and May 31, 2024, will be eligible to win one of two statewide awards of $5,529, or one of six regional awards of $2,529. Last year, more than 1,000 families started saving during our 529 Day promotion.
New for this year, families who already have a PA 529 GSP account with a balance of $10 or more as of April 30, 2024, are eligible to win an award of $5,529 if they make an additional contribution of at least $10 to their child’s account during the promotional period. Full 529 Day promotion details and official rules are available at pa529.com/529day.
The PA 529 program has been helping families save and pay for education for more than 30 years. Saving with PA 529 accounts comes with significant state and federal tax advantages. PA 529 accounts can be used for a wide variety of qualifying technical, collegiate, and apprenticeship expenses like tuition, fees, books, equipment, room and board, and more. Saving with PA 529 does not impact a student’s eligibility for Pennsylvania state financial aid.
The PA 529 GSP allows families to save at today’s tuition rates to meet tomorrow’s tuition costs – meaning saving enough to pay for a credit today will pay for that same credit years from now. Families can choose the tuition level they wish to save at – from community colleges up to Ivy League universities.
In March, the House unanimously approved House Bill 1745, sponsored by Rep. Paul Friel (D-26), which will provide a tax credit for employers who contribute to PA 529 College and Career Savings Program accounts owned by their employees. The bill would establish a 25 percent tax credit on employer contributions of up to $500 per participating employee per year. It would apply to contributions made to any 529 account owned by a Pennsylvania resident. House Bill 1745 is with the Senate for consideration.
Families with children born January 1, 2019, or later, already have a $100 Keystone Scholars account to jumpstart their education savings. This automatic deposit is available to every baby born in Pennsylvania, and those adopted by Pennsylvania families. The program uses no taxpayer dollars. Families are encouraged to register their Keystone Scholars accounts online at pa529.com/keystone and open their own companion PA 529 account to continue saving for their child’s future.
Visit pa529.com to learn more about saving with PA 529 and pa529.com/529day for official 529 Day promotion rules.
