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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee families have even more time to register for one of two $5,290 scholarships awarded by the TNStars College Saving Sweepstakes. One family of an elementary school student and one family of a middle school student will be awarded $5,290 to set up college savings accounts. Contest entries will be received until December 31, 2014. Winners will be randomly drawn in January of 2015.
State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. announced that TNStars, the state’s 529 college savings plan, will be awarding TNStars plans with opening account balances of $5,290 to two families whose names will be randomly selected this fall from entries in two contests.
TNStars is a “529 program,” so named after the section of the Internal Revenue code which allows people to save money and earn investment income for college expenses while enjoying certain tax advantages.
TNStars, a program administered by the Tennessee Treasury Department, allows people to invest money in a number of different financial options ranging from conservative to aggressive. One of them is an age-based option that features more aggressive investments when children are younger that become more conservative as children approach college age. Money can be withdrawn from TNStars accounts tax-free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses.
In the contests, all Tennessee families with elementary and middle school age children may compete for the scholarship money. To become eligible, children in kindergarten through second grade must participate in a coloring contest sponsored by TNStars. Children in third through eighth grades must complete a fun online interactive guide about the importance of saving money in order to become eligible. Entry instructions are available at www.tnstars.com.