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You want to build a great financial future for your child. You’re putting money aside, or figuring out where to start. People who love your child may want to help, too.
Maybe you’re expecting a baby and would welcome gifts toward their future. Maybe you already have a 529 for education, an investment account for later in life, or both.
You’ve come across Greatest Gift and 529 plans. Which do you need? And if you already have a 529, what would GG add?
A 529 plan helps you save and invest for education. Greatest Gift is a financial gifting registry that helps you share your child’s goals and invite others to support them. You can use GG with a supported 529, alongside other savings and investment accounts, or before you’ve chosen an account.
With GG, people can send personal gifts toward college, a start in adult life or a trip you’re saving for. Monthly Gifts and Gift Matching give them ways to keep helping.
A 529 education savings plan gives you a place to invest for your child’s education. Earnings can grow without federal income tax, and withdrawals for qualified education expenses are federally tax-free.
Certain education expenses beyond college tuition qualify too. State tax rules can differ. The IRS guide to 529 plans explains the federal rules.
Yes. Many 529 plans have tools for that.
Fidelity’s 529 plans offer a personalized college gifting page and a dashboard for tracking gifts. Friends and family can give by electronic check without paying a fee for the gifting service. See Fidelity’s gifting guide.
Ugift, available through many participating plans, lets you share a contribution code. The service is free. Givers can create a profile to set up recurring gifts, and account owners receive confirmation when gifts reach the plan. See how Ugift works.
Backer helps families open or link a 529 and share a gifting page. It sends occasion reminders, and its NC 529 gifting service offers monthly gifts. Its family service focuses on education savings. Explore Backer and its NC 529 gifting FAQ.
If your brother wants to send $100 straight to an existing education fund, your plan’s gift link may be all you need.
GG gives you a place to bring gifts together around your child, including goals that don’t fit into a 529.
Your baby shower is in three weeks. You know you’d love some gifts to go toward the baby’s future, but you haven’t compared 529 plans yet.
Before your baby is born, you don’t have their Social Security number to name them as a 529 beneficiary. You can open a 529 with yourself as beneficiary and change it later, but you don’t need to arrange that before receiving GG gifts. See Fidelity’s before-birth guidance.
You can share a GG registry now and choose the account later. For example:
We’re getting ready for Nora’s arrival and starting to save for her future. If you’d like to help with college or other savings, you can send a gift here. Thank you for helping us get her started!
You’ll need a supported financial account when you transfer the gifts. Money waiting in GG isn’t invested.
Our guide to asking for money as baby shower gifts has more wording you can use.
Grandma wants to help with your child’s future. She also wants your child to know how much she loves them.
Through GG, she can add a photo of them together and a greeting:
A little something for your future, with lots of love from Grandma. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do!
You receive a text or email letting you know her gift has arrived. You can read her message, see the photo and share it with your child. Then you decide where to put the money.
If Grandma would rather help with savings than buy another toy, she still has something personal to give.
You might have a 529 for education and a custodial investment account, often called a UTMA, for a different goal. Maybe you want to help your child get a start in adult life.
Both goals can go on your GG page. Friends and family can see what you’re saving for and send a gift. You handle the account decisions.
Ben, Greatest Gift’s founder, uses GG this way for his son. He has a 529 and a UTMA for different goals. He collects gifts through GG, then decides how much to put toward each goal based on how the savings are coming along.
For example, you might put two-thirds of the money available after fees toward a supported 529 and one-third toward a supported UTMA. Next time, you might put more toward the UTMA because your education savings are further along. You choose the amounts and make the transfers through GG.
You don’t need a 529 to use GG. Education may not be your main goal, or you may already feel comfortable with what you’re saving for it.
Gifts can go to a supported investment account for long-term savings, a savings account for a bigger expense, or your checking account for an experience or trip.
You make that choice before transferring the gifts. Once money reaches a 529 or UTMA, that account’s rules apply.
Our guide to investment accounts for kids can help you compare the options.
You don’t have to save everything at once. A little help each month, along with gifts for holidays and milestones, can add to what you’re putting aside yourself.
A grandparent gives $15 a month. A family friend gives $10. Together, that’s $300 over a year before fees.
With Monthly Gifts, each giver chooses the amount and how many months to give. They can cancel future gifts.
You choose where to put those gifts, just as you do with one-time gifts.
A godparent offers to match gifts up to $150 per month.
During the holidays, six people each give $25. The godparent matches their $150 with another $150. Together, they’ve given $300 toward your child’s goals before fees.
Knowing their $25 will become $50 toward your child’s goal may encourage someone to chip in.
You can invite anyone to match, including a grandparent, godparent, friend or employer. They provide the matching money.
GG+ is for parents who want to be intentional about building wealth for their kids. Monthly Gifts and Gift Matching help turn that intention into regular support from people who care about your child.
These tools require the optional membership. A basic gifting page is free, and one-time gifts don’t require a membership.
Put the two examples together: $300 in monthly gifts, $150 in holiday gifts and a $150 match. That’s $600 before fees in a year.
If you’re putting aside $75 a month yourself, your contributions add up to $900. With those gifts, you’d have $1,500 before gifting fees, membership and investment costs to put toward your child’s future.
This example assumes everyone gives as planned, with one $150 match during the year. It doesn’t include investment growth.
Even small gifts from a few people can make a real difference.
You can keep contributing to your existing 529 while receiving gifts through GG.
For help getting started, see our guide to saving for your child’s future.
Fidelity’s college gifting service and Ugift don’t charge a gifting-service fee. The 529 plan itself can still have investment or account expenses.
GG has processing and transfer fees. A basic account and gifting page are free, while Monthly Gifts and Gift Matching require GG+.
Bank-funded gifts have a 1% sending fee. Credit-card gifts have a 3.5% sending fee. Transfers to supported long-term savings accounts, including supported 529 plans, cost 0.5% plus 25¢. Givers can choose an optional platform contribution, including $0. Monthly Gifts processing charges also apply.
A one-time $100 bank-funded gift transferred to a supported 529 leaves about $98.25 toward education after standard sending and transfer fees. This assumes no optional platform contribution.
Transfers to a regular checking account cost 5%, which matters if you plan to use some gifts for a trip or another nearer-term goal. See GG’s fee information.
Consider what GG would help you do: share more than one goal, invite a match or give relatives a way to send something personal.
A gift becomes a 529 contribution when the money reaches the plan. It then follows the plan’s rules.
State deductions or credits depend on the state, the plan and who qualifies. Don’t assume the original GG giver gets a 529 deduction. If you’re counting on a tax benefit, check the plan’s guidance or ask a tax professional before contributing.
Choose a 529 when you want to save and invest for education. If you already have one and simply want gifts going into it, the plan’s own gifting service may cover what you need.
Add Greatest Gift when you want a personal gifting experience around your child’s goals. You can invite a match, receive monthly gifts and decide how to divide gifts between supported accounts.
Start with GG if people are ready to give and you’re still choosing where to save or invest. You can add a supported 529 later or choose another type of account.
You don’t have to know every goal today, and you don’t have to save for all of them on your own. Start with what matters to your family and let the people who care about your child help you build from there.
I love how easy it is to give a meaningful gift to the kids and tots in my life!
It means a lot to me that I can contribute to their future, and Greatest Gift makes the experience seamless and fun.
Alana S.
Our son just turned two. We created his gifting page with Greatest Gift and shared it on the birthday evite. The results were amazing! We received 12 gifts that will be going to his college fund and savings.
Love this platform.
Daniel A.
We have a 2-year-old and another baby on the way, and we love Greatest Gift’s discover section. I look forward to learning about the right financial tools to help build their future and set them up for success financially.
Hillan K.
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