Time to Fill Out the 2020-2021 FAFSA Application

Contributed by: Kali Hassinger, CFP®

Just as parents and students are getting back into the groove of another school year, it’s already time to start thinking ahead! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA, opened for the 2020-2021 school year on October 1. The form helps determine financial aid eligibility for both current and prospective students. Although this is a federal application, it may also be used to apply for many state loan, grant, and scholarship programs.

The sooner the better!

A large portion of available funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so the earlier you file the FAFSA, the more money is available for loans and grants. While you have until June 30, 2021 to file the FAFSA for the 2020-2021 school year, most state and school deadlines differ. It doesn’t matter whether a student has been accepted by a school at the time of filing. You’ll need to elect at least one college to receive the application information, but you can add multiple schools in which you may be interested.

What information do I use?

For the 2020-2021 school year, the FAFSA will use 2018 tax return information. Regardless of your household income level, however, it’s important to file the application. Some schools will only consider students for scholarships if they have filed the FAFSA.

Visit https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa to start the process.

Kali Hassinger, CFP®, CDFA®, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® She has more than a decade of financial planning and insurance industry experience.

3 Reasons to Get an Early Start on College Savings

Contributed by: Robert Ingram

The back-to-school season is right around the corner. And if you have school-aged children, the thought of planning for their college education may be enough to cause your own case of back-to-school jitters. Costs of a four-year education at many colleges and universities are already well into the six-figure range (per child!). For many families hoping to cover a large portion of the costs, significant savings goals are likely required. That’s why, more than ever, you should create a college savings plan as early as possible. 

College Costs Keep Rising

When planning to fund an education goal that may be years away, focusing on today’s costs is (unfortunately) just the beginning. Like the prices of many other goods and services, college costs have increased over time. These costs, however, have been rising much faster than those of other household expenses. According to JPMorgan Asset Management’s research, tuition costs have grown by an average annual rate of 6.4% since 1983. At this rate, today’s cost of tuition would double in about 11 years. Even if this rate of inflation slowed somewhat, potential college costs are eye-opening.

The illustration below shows projected total tuition, fees, and room and board expenses for a four-year, public or private college education, with a 5% annual increase in costs.

Source: JPMorgan Asset Management College Planning Essentials, using The College Board, 2018 Trends in College Pricing. Future college costs estimated to inflate 5% per year. Average tuition, fees and room and board for public college reflect four-year, in-state charges.

As you can see in this example, a child who is 10 years old today could expect a total cost of $136,085 at an in-state public college or university. Her education at a private college could cost over $308,000.

The power of compound growth on your savings and invested earnings can be one of your best allies as you save for these potential future costs. Let’s say the family of our 10-year-old child began saving $3,600 each year. At 7% growth compounded annually, they would have $36,935 by the time she turned 18. What if, instead, they began saving that same amount eight years earlier, when the child was age 2? At the same 7% annual return, they would have $100,396. The sooner you can begin saving and investing, the more time compounding has to work its magic.

The Burden of Student Loan Debt

As the costs of college have continued to rise, the amount of student loan debt has grown as well. A recent report from the New York Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Panel showed that outstanding student loan debt totaled $1.44 trillion as of September 30, 2018. In addition, studies from the Institute of College Access and Success found that 65% of students graduating in 2017 from public and private, non-profit colleges had student loans, and the average borrower owed $28,650.

Loans can help provide students the funds to complete their educations, but a large debt balance can have serious implications for a graduate’s personal finances. As new graduates begin their careers, servicing this student loan debt can take up a large portion of their budgets. More dollars going to pay down debt means fewer dollars available for other needs, for building an emergency fund, saving for a house, or saving for retirement. (Click here to see some financial tips for new graduates). Parents managing student loan debt can also feel similar constraints. Often, parents in the home stretch toward retirement are paying down debt instead of funding their own retirement plans. 

Of course, every dollar of college expenses paid from savings can mean one less dollar of debt to service. More than that, the longer you have to build college savings, the greater the difference between the out-of-pocket cost of paying for college with debt and the out-of-pocket cost of saving. Take a look at the following chart, which compares the cost of funding education through loans (the principal borrowed and interest) with the cost of saving over 18 years.

In this hypothetical example, the total out-of-pocket amount of $65,800 contributed to the savings plan combined with investment earnings of 6% annually provided the total balance of $117,698. Borrowing that same $117,698 could result in total spending of $168,390 for the loan principal and interest.

What about Financial Aid?

If you’re like many clients thinking about college planning, you may be concerned that your savings and investments will negatively affect your eligibility for college aid. You might be worried that the more you save, the less likely it is that you will receive assistance.

To determine financial aid eligibility, schools use an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is a measure of a family’s financial strength. The EFC formula takes into account the incomes and assets of both the student and the parents. While the amount of savings and investment assets are considered, assets – and particularly those held in parents’ names – are a much smaller factor than incomes.  

The EFC formula includes up to 50% of the student’s income and 47% of parents’ income. On the other hand, the EFC considers up to 20% of the student’s assets and only 5.64% of the parents’ non-retirement assets, above a protected amount. Although balances in college savings plans are counted along with other non-retirement assets, the smaller percentage applied to parental assets can allow parents to build some meaningful savings without drastically affecting their student’s EFC. For a closer look at the financial aid process, check out our college planning webinar.

As with other areas of financial planning, college savings involves balancing your goals and priorities in order to most effectively align your resources. Your own unique circumstances will determine the right amounts to save, and when and where to save. If we can be a resource for any of your college planning needs, please let us know!

Robert Ingram, CFP®, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® With more than 15 years of industry experience, he is a trusted source for local media outlets and frequent contributor to The Center’s “Money Centered” blog.

Webinar in Review: College Planning Navigating the Financial Aid Process and the FAFSA

Contributed by: Robert Ingram

Are you unsure of where to start when it comes to applying for financial aid or what to make of the award letter your child has received? You’re not alone! Many parents are confused about the FAFSA, about what it actually means, or how they will benefit from completing it each year. Throughout this 45-minute webinar, our guest speaker, Carrie Gilchrist, Ph.D., Senior Financial Aid Outreach Advisor at Oakland University will share her insights on why you should always complete the FAFSA and how the information is used to determine financial aid awards. Carrie will also discuss the FAFSA filing deadlines and details, provide advice on steps to consider leading up to starting school, and address how college savings accounts can potentially affect financial aid.

Link to recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0yjOqZzYHQ

Check out the time stamps below to listen to the topics you’re most interested in:

• 4:25: Explanation of the Elements of Financial Aid

• 5:30: What is the FAFSA, and How to Apply

• 23:30: FAFSA Processing

• 28:00 Sources of Financial Aid: Federal Government, State, College & University, Private Sources

• 38:30: Change in Financial Circumstances

• 39:30: Your Next Steps

Robert Ingram is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

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The opinions expressed in the webinar are those of the speaker and not necessarily those of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Raymond James is not affiliated with Carrie Gilchrist or Oakland University.

Student Loan Interest Rates Increase for the 2018/2019 School Year

Contributed by: Josh Bitel

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, college is expensive. For the second year in a row, rates on federal student loans for students attending college in the fall of 2018 are rising by 0.60%. This is a result of the rise in 10-year Treasury note rates. This rate increase wont effect loans made on or before June 30, 2018. Of course, this only applies to federal loans.

For current students, new loan payments will be slightly higher – to the tune of about two or three dollars per month. However, the bigger hit comes for students enrolling for the first time in the fall. With the combination of rising interest rates and the cost of college sky rocketing every year, repayment of these loans can feel daunting. We are likely to see consistent rate hikes for the foreseeable future which will serve to be a bigger burden down the road.  

These rate hikes stress the importance of reducing your need for loans, if possible. Saving as early as you can is an easy way to do this. Simply put, the more you have saved, the less you will need to borrow for education. Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and applying for as many scholarships and grants as you qualify for is a great starting point.

Before applying for loans, you should always know how much you need to borrow, there are numerous student loan affordability calculators available online that can give you a sense of what you need and what you can afford. Bear in mind that you may qualify for more than you need, so fighting the temptation of a little extra spending money (at 6.60% interest) is key.

At any rate it is important to understand key information when signing into a loan. Education costs are steadily rising, and interest rates seem to be headed in the same direction. With a responsible payoff strategy and a little bit of hard work, you can start chipping away at that debt in no time. 

Josh Bitel is a Client Service Associate at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

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The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Josh Bitel and not necessarily those of Raymond James.