Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage has simplified the process to open your account with us. There are now just four easy steps to set up an account. And it all starts with creating a log in by adding your name, email address, and creating a username and password. Make sure to write down and save your username and password as you will need them to if you don’t complete your application in one sitting, as well accessing your account(s) once opened. This process will be the same whether online or with our READYSAVE 529 app, which can be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play app stores.

Step 1: Account Owner

Here’s where you tell us about yourself. This information is required to verify and record you as the account owner. It also supplies us with the best way to contact you. You must have a street address to open an account. You can add a different mailing address if you prefer to have your Ohio 529 correspondence mailed to a P.O. Box. Once this section is completed, you will next share for whom you are saving.

Step 2: Beneficiary

Now tell us about the beneficiary of your Ohio 529 account. All the fields are required unless marked as optional. If your beneficiary has a different mailing address, you will be able to add that information as well.

Step 3: Contributions

How would you like to fund your 529 account? Under funding method, you can select bank to add your account information to set up your first contribution. It will take three business days for these funds to be withdrawn.

Also, you can toggle the funding method to check which will generate a deposit slip to include with the check to fund your new 529 account. Contributions by check will not be available for withdrawal for seven business days.

Lastly, there’s the rollover option from another 529 program and a withdrawal from a Coverdell Education Savings Account. You must provide documentation of the principal and earning portions of your rollover. After filling in the fields, it will produce a Rollover Form and Letter of Acceptance that you must print, sign, then mail to the financial institution that currently has these funds. You can also rollover a liquidation of a U.S. Savings Bond Series EE or Series 1. You can add those funds to your 529 account with the accompanying a principal and earning statement. For further information on the savings bonds, please refer to page 5 and 10 of Offering Statement or contact our customer service department at 1-800-233-6734.

There’s also an option to add an initial contribution from gifts from loved ones who want to support your children’s future college and career training.

Or, you can skip this funding step and instead set up recurring contributions from either your bank account or through your paycheck. Select the start date, how much you would like to contribute, and how often you want to automatic add to your account: either monthly or quarterly.

If you have chosen payroll for your recurring contributions, there will be a deposit slip to print after signing up. You will need take to this form to your payroll or human resource department to start the process.

At the time you establish your account, you can also set up an annual increase to your automatic contributions from your bank account. It’s an easy way to increase your savings without having to add it to your to-do list.

Step 4: Investments

And the last step is to select how you would like to save. There are three options.

The “Keep it simple” option takes you to our “set-it-and-forget-it” ready-made age-based portfolios. With the Advantage Age Based Portfolio, the fund selected will be based on the year that your child will need the funds for college or career training. With the Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolio (TEP), the fund selected will match the anticipated date when your child will start higher education after high school. However, with the TEP, you can choose a later date fund to add more equity to the mix, or you can select an earlier date fund to add more bonds and cash preservation options.

The next option is “Build your own.” With this approach, you can review all Ohio 529 individual, risk-based, and age-based investment options. After reviewing the options and making your choices, you will need to select how much of your contribution should go to those investment options.

If you want a FDIC-insured banking product, you can select the “Fifth Third Certificate of Deposit,” which must be opened with a $500 minimum contribution. You will then select the term length of the CD. If your initial contribution is under $500, then the funding amount will be updated to reflect the new total. As you have already added your bank account information, the new total will be withdrawn from it.

Complete the application!

And you’re almost done! At this point, you can click the “Add Another Beneficiary” button to follow steps 2-4 to add any additional child or grandchild. Otherwise, hit the “Let’s Finish Up” button to review the information on yourself, the beneficiary, your funding method, and your investment selections. You can still make changes if needed. You can also save the application and come back later with your username and password to complete it.

Or you can simply select the “Open Account” button and start saving for your children’s or grandchildren’s future today!

Your account number will then be available at the top of the next screen. A confirmation will also sent to the address listed for the account.

If you still have questions, our customer service representatives are here to help! They are available to assist you at 1-800-AFFORD-IT (233-6734) from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST Monday -Friday. 

Since 1989, Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage has been helping families across the nation save for their children’s and grandchildren’s college and career training. Your Ohio 529 accounts pay for qualified costs at four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, tech, trade and vocational schools, apprenticeships, and certificate programs. Learn, plan, and start for as little as $25 today with Ohio 529 at CollegeAdvantage.com.