PREPAID COLLEGE PLANS

Pay now, and get tuition paidlater. That's the implied promise ofstate prepaid college plans, whichlet parents pay a fixed amount attoday's tuition levels and eventuallyget their children's state-collegetuition paid in full. Unlike 529plans, which can fluctuate with themarket, prepaid plans are supposedto be virtually risk-free. Now, besetby falling markets and rising tuitioncosts, some states are hiking thecost of buying into the plans, someare closing their plans to newenrollees, and others are backingaway from the promise of fully paidtuition. Before you sign up, checkout the rules for your state's prepaidplan. You can find links to all statecollege savings plans at www.collegesavings.org or call 877-227-6496for more information on 529 plans.