This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Florida Prepaid College Board, and today the Board announced it is lowering Prepaid Plan monthly prices by up to 25% for this year’s Open Enrollment period, February 1 – April 30, 2024.
Prepaid Plan prices are now the lowest in 10 years, starting at just $34/month for a 1-Year University Plan for a newborn. The Price reductions are primarily due to successive years of lower than anticipated tuition and fee increases for Florida colleges and state universities.
While Florida families continue to face inflation across many areas of everyday life, the lower plan prices will allow even more Florida families to prepare for the cost of higher education for their children. The popular 4-Year University Plan now starts at less than $135/month, and the 2-Year College Plan is just $39/month.
In addition, current customers with plans purchased since 2008 that have not yet started utilizing benefits, will also have a lower plan price. More than 280,000 existing customers will have plan prices lowered by more than $1.3 billion. Nearly half of these customers now have their plan paid in full and will receive refunds totaling more than $350 million. The average refund per customer is $2,600.
Any customers that have already submitted their Prepaid Plan application between May 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024, will receive notice of their new Prepaid Plan price in February.
“Every day we strive to support Florida families by making college savings simple and affordable,” said Board Chairman John D. Rood. “This price reduction reflects our commitment to that goal. We thank Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for their continued efforts to make a college education attainable for Florida students during these past few years of economic uncertainty and heightened inflation.”
Governor DeSantis applauded the price reduction, which is aligned with his administration’s goal of making sure a postsecondary education is affordable for Florida families.
Prepaid Plans provide a simple, affordable way to save for college tuition and fees and/or dormitory housing and allow families to lock in their plan price and make fixed monthly payments.
Families can use the Prepaid Plan online pricing tool to determine what the various plans cost based on a child’s age, as well as explore the different payment options available.
If a child attends an out-of-state college or private college, a Prepaid Plan will pay the same amount as it would pay at a public college or university in Florida. Every Prepaid Plan is protected by the State of Florida, and a child has up to 10 years after high school graduation to use a plan.
“Florida families have been squeezed by housing and food costs over the past few years, and we are glad to be able to ease their budget concerns by providing even more affordable plan prices. Florida Prepaid is the largest and longest-running prepaid program in the nation, and we hope that with the reduced prices even more Florida families can start saving for their children’s future,” said Executive Director Kevin Thompson. “For 35 years, we have stayed true to the mission of our founder, Mr. Stanley G. Tate, to provide Florida families with an affordable means to save for their children’s higher education.”
Eligible account owners will receive a notification from the Board regarding their refund and/or payment reduction. For more information about how your plan will be affected, go to myfloridaprepaid.com/lowprices.
To get started saving for college today, visit myfloridaprepaid.com. Open Enrollment ends April 30, 2024.
About the Florida Prepaid College Board
The Florida Prepaid College Board manages the Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program and the Florida 529 Savings Plan. Both are tax-favored 529 college savings plans authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. In 1987 the Florida Prepaid College Program was created by the Florida Legislature and the commitment and dedication of Mr. Stanley G. Tate to provide Florida families with an affordable means to save for their children’s future college education. The first Florida Prepaid College Plans were sold in 1988 and were augmented with the addition of the Florida 529 Savings Plan in 2002. The Board also oversees two direct-support organizations – The Florida Prepaid College Foundation and Florida ABLE, Inc., d/b/a ABLE United. Florida Prepaid is the largest, longest running and most successful prepaid plan in the nation, with more than 2 million Florida Prepaid College Plans purchased and more than $15 billion in assets. The 529 Savings Plan has more than 130,000 active accounts, with a market value of more than $1 billion.
