Program Participation

Who can open a Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) account?
Can more than one person contribute to an account?
Can an account owner have more than one account?
Can a trust or corporation open an account?
What if the account owner dies?
Who can be a beneficiary?
Can there be more than one beneficiary on an account?
Can I change the beneficiary on the account?
Will an account affect my beneficiary’s eligibility for financial aid?
Can there be more than one account owner on an account?


Who can open a Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) account?
Any U.S. citizen or resident alien who is at least 18 years old, has a valid U.S. Social Security or Taxpayer Identification number, and has a physical U.S. address can open a UESP account. This means that parents, grandparents, other relatives, or friends can save through UESP. You can even open an account for yourself. There are no age or income limits on who can invest money. Trusts and corporations can also be account owners with the proper documentation.

Can more than one person contribute to an account?
Yes, anyone can contribute to a UESP account, but there can be only one account owner. Though someone other than the account owner can contribute, only the account owner can control how assets are invested and used. Also, only account owners receive the Utah state tax credit or deduction.

Can an account owner have more than one account? 
Yes, an account owner can both open accounts for multiple beneficiaries, and have multiple accounts for the same beneficiary.

Can a trust or corporation open an account?
Yes, UESP allows trusts and corporate entities to be account owners. In addition to the requirements for U.S. Social Security and Taxpayer Identification Numbers, we require specific documentation from or on behalf of authorized agents.

What if the account owner dies?
Account owners can designate successor account owners who will assume control of the account if the account owner dies. The successor account owner will have to provide proof regarding the account owner’s death, and he or she will also have to submit an Account Owner/Agent Change form. There cannot be a successor account owner for accounts owned by trusts, corporations, or those accounts designated as custodial 529 accounts (due to funding with UGMA/UTMA assets).

Who can be a beneficiary?
A UESP account can be opened for any U.S. citizen or resident alien who has a valid U.S. Social Security or Taxpayer Identification number and a physical U.S. address.

Can there be more than one beneficiary on an account?
No, an account owner can designate only one beneficiary per account. 

Can I change the beneficiary on the account?
An account owner may change the beneficiary on an account without adverse tax consequences as long as the new beneficiary is a “member of the family” of the preceding beneficiary. An allowable “member of the family” includes the father or mother, or ancestor of either; a child, or descendent of a child; a stepfather or stepmother; a stepson or stepdaughter; a brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister, half-brother or half-sister; a brother or sister of the father or mother; brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law; a son or daughter of a brother or sister; a spouse of the beneficiary or any of the other individuals mentioned above; or a first cousin. There may be gift or generation-skipping transfer taxes when the beneficiary of an account is set. Please consult your tax adviser.

Will an account affect my beneficiary’s eligibility for financial aid?
Any assets owned by a parent or by the beneficiary will impact the eligibility for financial aid to varying degrees. For example, for academic year 2008-2009 up to 20 percent of assets owned by the beneficiary are assumed to be available for higher education whereas up to 5.6 percent of parental assets are expected to be available for higher education. The percentages must be extrapolated from the Federal Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula worksheets.

Can there be more than one account owner on an account?
No, there can only be one account owner.

 

© 2009 Utah State Board of Regents, all rights reserved.
The terms Utah Educational Savings Plan and UESP are registered service marks.

Investors should read the Program Description and consider all investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. The Program Description is available for download on the Web or a hard copy can be mailed to you by requesting it online from this Web site.

FDIC Insurance. Except for the underlying investment specified below, investments in UESP are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). FDIC insurance is provided for the FDIC-insured savings account held in trust by UESP at Zions First National Bank (Bank). Funds in the savings account are insured by the FDIC on a pass-through basis to each account owner up to the maximum amount set by federal law—currently $250,000 through December 31, 2013, and $100,000 thereafter. The amount of FDIC insurance provided to an account owner is based on the total of (1) the value of an account owner’s investment in UESP’s FDIC-insured savings account plus (2) the value of other accounts held (if any) at the Bank, as determined by the Bank and by FDIC regulations.

No Other Insurance and No Guarantees. Investments in UESP are not insured nor guaranteed by the State of Utah, UESP, the Utah State Board of Regents, the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority, other state agencies, federal government agencies (except to the extent noted above regarding FDIC insurance ), or any employees or directors of any such entities. Units in UESP have not been registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or with any state securities commission.

Account Value. The value of your UESP account may vary depending on market conditions and the performance of the investment option you select. It could be more or less than the amount you contribute; in short, your investment could lose value. However, subject to the application of Bank and FDIC rules and regulations to each account owner, funds in UESP’s FDIC-insured savings account will retain their value, whether in Option 11 or when allocated to portions of Options 2, 7, 8, and 9.

Non-Utah taxpayers and residents: You should determine whether the state in which you or your beneficiary pay taxes or live offers a 529 plan that provides state tax or other benefits not otherwise available to you by investing in UESP. You should consider such state tax treatment and benefits, if any, before investing in UESP.

 

For more details about how our plan works, download a copy of our Program Description.

Click here to download a pdf.
Click here to request a mailed copy.