Saving for College

[sonjack2847]

10 hours ago, Gas said:

Some of the information i give you may be outdated, but we are pleased with plans we took out with Philam Life.

The Education Plans we took out in 2001/2002 were with The Philippine American Life And General Insurance Company (Philam Life).The policy at the time was called Scholar Gold, although i now believe it is called Future Scholar.  I was listed as the owner of the policy and the kids as the insured.  There are various payment options available depending on the age of the child and as ours were 4 and 5 we paid quarterly until they were 17. The plan then pays out a guaranteed amount twice yearly over 4 years with a lump sum around graduation time.  

There were no restrictions on me being a foreigner or my immigration status, however there may be age restrictions if you plan to put the policy in your name.  I did take some type of medical examination but it only involved saying hello to the doctor and him telling me that his daughter lived in California!

If you do the arithmetic the amount of interest over the years is not that great, but one the deciding factors when i took out the policy were the extra benefits and the guaranteed waiver of premium if i died or was permanently disabled.

 The actual policy is not linked to the child studying, so even if the child decides not to study the company will continue with payments. Starting in 2014 i started to receive college educational benefits from Philam and payments have been on time and exactly as promised. 

Thanks for that I will look into it.

[sonjack2847]

10 hours ago, Gas said:

  I did take some type of medical examination but it only involved saying hello to the doctor and him telling me that his daughter lived in California!

Wow you had to have a full medical by Philippines standard.

[Gator]

On 5/27/2017 at 8:53 PM, intrepid said:

If you were going to start saving for your child’s college education early, what means would you use and where?  In our case it’s one daughter now starting the sixth grade.  Of course the options for where are here in the Philippines or your home country.  The other part is how, a tax deferred plan, regular savings account, college savings account?  Or no account at all and just pay as we go.  We are starting to think a dedicated plan might be worthwhile for us.  My wife would prefer it be here in the Philippines so it would be easier to manage if something happens to me.  I understand that but I like the USA just because I feel safer with investments there.  I’m not even sure what plans are available here.  Just starting the search now and thinking.

Florida has a prepaid college / uni fund. Am sure many other states offer the same type plan. Enrollment is only available for a few months per year, the plan locks in tuition, etc at current prices and it can used at any college/uni within the state. They advise starting it when children are about 7-8 years old (roughly 10 years prior to being of typical college age) and you can get the money refunded if the child does not attend. It's paid with post tax dollars so there's no tax advantage, but nor is there a tax penalty if you cancel the plan (but I think there some minor fees for terminating it).

It can also be used in conjunction with a 529 plan, which IMHO are good, but can present a risk depending on the type of investment(s) chosen. The prepaid plan is essentially risk free as it's guaranteed by the state. 

http://www.myfloridaprepaid.com/

Note that I have no vested interest in the above plan - I'm only providing info about it. Up to you to do your due diligence to determine if it's right for you. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Gator

[intrepid]

15 hours ago, Gator said:

Florida has a prepaid college / uni fund. Am sure many other states offer the same type plan. Enrollment is only available for a few months per year, the plan locks in tuition, etc at current prices and it can used at any college/uni within the state. They advise starting it when children are about 7-8 years old (roughly 10 years prior to being of typical college age) and you can get the money refunded if the child does not attend. It's paid with post tax dollars so there's no tax advantage, but nor is there a tax penalty if you cancel the plan (but I think there some minor fees for terminating it).

It can also be used in conjunction with a 529 plan, which IMHO are good, but can present a risk depending on the type of investment(s) chosen. The prepaid plan is essentially risk free as it's guaranteed by the state. 

http://www.myfloridaprepaid.com/

Note that I have no vested interest in the above plan - I'm only providing info about it. Up to you to do your due diligence to determine if it's right for you. 

Although I'm legally a Florida resident we are planning and hoping our daughter goes to college in the Philippines. The choice we be hers but if she chooses the US maybe a two year local college to start

[jpbago]

Our girls are in 4th year which is OJT. I had thought that OJT would be less expensive but not so, not sure yet as the Uni does not know yet, we had to pay a down payment only to lock in for now.

Our friend's daughter is doing OJT in USA. She paid p500,000  for 1 year all inclusive but she gets paid $25,000 for the year of HRM. I imagine that she will not return to PI.

[Gratefuled]

On 5/30/2017 at 10:57 PM, intrepid said:

Although I'm legally a Florida resident we are planning and hoping our daughter goes to college in the Philippines. The choice we be hers but if she chooses the US maybe a two year local college to start

Just in case you do stay in Florida while your daughter is attending college. I managed to get my first 2 sons through college but my youngest one really drained me. So, he acquired a student loan and it increased. The US Army offered to pay off his loan for a 3 year enlistment. So, that is what he did. One third paid after every year. He finished his final year after he was discharged. He was also offered an internship with a local civil engineer company to which he joined after graduating. 

Just another option to consider. 

[intrepid]

1 hour ago, Gratefuled said:

Just in case you do stay in Florida while your daughter is attending college. I managed to get my first 2 sons through college but my youngest one really drained me. So, he acquired a student loan and it increased. The US Army offered to pay off his loan for a 3 year enlistment. So, that is what he did. One third paid after every year. He finished his final year after he was discharged. He was also offered an internship with a local civil engineer company to which he joined after graduating. 

Just another option to consider. 

Thanks Greatefuled.  Sounds like it was a good deal for your son.  I'll have to remember that when the time comes.  You never know what the future holds when she finishes high school. 

[Gary D]

My wife started one of these pre needs plans in the Philippines without my knowledge,. The company went bust and she's 100k+ out on the deal.

[Reboot]

My ex has a Florida saving plan she contributes to and she's on my case to do it also. Nobody paid for my college. I had to bust my ass all the way through. Worked two and three jobs, plus a full load. Still graduated with a 4.0 GPA. My youngest brother got everything paid. Lucky him. But his grade's weren't as good. You don't take it so serious when it's Dad's funds.

Anyway, US college prices are ridiculous. And it's no longer any sort of a guarantee of a good job when you get out. The whole thing is basically a scam.

[jpbago]

On 6/2/2017 at 8:59 PM, Gary D said:

My wife started one of these pre needs plans in the Philippines without my knowledge,. The company went bust and she's 100k+ out on the deal.

My wife knows of more than 1 college insurance plan that went bankrupt.