Tax Advantages

• Earnings on your Hartford SMART529 account grow tax-deferred, leaving all of your money invested to accumulate for college.
• Distributions used for qualified higher education expenses (tuition, fees, room, board, books, equipment and supplies) are federal income tax free at any eligible educational institution nationwide including colleges, universities, graduate schools and trade schools. Non-qualified withdrawals are taxable as ordinary income to the extent of earnings and may also be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. Such withdrawals may have state income tax implications.
  
  Other qualified expenses include:
  • K-12 tuition expenses up to $10,000 per year*
  • Repayment of qualified student loans or a maximum lifetime limit of up to $10,000. This includes amounts of repaid principal and interest on any qualified student loan of either a 529 plan designated beneficiary or a sibling of the designated beneficiary.**
  • Apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Secretary of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act. Includes expenses for fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for the participation of a designated beneficiary in a program.**

• Anyone can contribute up to $19,000 per year ($38,000 for married couples filing jointly) to a beneficiary's SMART529 account without gift-tax consequences.¹ Contributions may be accelerated up to $95,000 ($190,000 for married couples) once per 5-year period without incurring federal gift taxes.²

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Account Owner Control

• As the account owner you maintain complete control of your Hartford SMART529 account, including how contributions are invested and when withdrawals are made.
• There is no set deadline for using your account assets. The proceeds can be withdrawn by you at any time and at any age, subject to potential penalties for non-qualified withdrawals.
• You can change your beneficiary without a federal income tax liability, as long as the new beneficiary is a family member of the current beneficiary (an "eligible beneficiary"). Please see the Offering statement for the definition of eligible beneficiaries.

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Flexibility

• Your Hartford SMART529 account can be used to cover qualified³ higher education expenses at thousands of eligible institutions throughout the country, including colleges, universities, vocational schools, and private and religious K-12 schools.
• An account can be opened in anyone's name, including your own.
• If the beneficiary receives a scholarship, you can withdraw an amount equal to the scholarship from your account without a federal income-tax penalty. The money must be used to pay for qualified education expenses or the earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax, but not the 10% federal income tax penalty.
• Change of plans? If your child chooses not to attend college, you may rollover a portion of your 529 account funds to a Roth IRA, subject to certain requirements. 

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Simple, Convenient Contributions

• Anyone can contribute to a Hartford SMART529 account, including friends and relatives. 
• There are no limits on contributions until your account balance exceeds $550,000.
• An account may be opened with an initial investment of $250 for Account Owners and Designated Beneficiaries that are non-West Virginia residents and $50 for West Virginia residents.

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Investment Options

• Hartford SMART529 offers a wide range of investment options ranging from conservative to aggressive. Investing is convenient with asset-allocation models based on the beneficiary's age (Age-Based Portfolios), or based on your risk tolerance and the time before college starts (Static Portfolios).
• Tax-free transfers between investment options are allowed twice per calendar year.
• Investment returns are not guaranteed, and you could lose money by investing in a 529 plan.
• Hartford SMART529 also offers a selection of investment options that invest in certain underlying funds ("Individual 529 Portfolio Options").

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