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Education is Everything

As a respected educator, you can help families prepare for the escalating costs of higher education by teaching children and their families sound higher education financial planning practices.

Whether your students are preschoolers or high-schoolers, you can help families prepare for the future by providing information on the Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP).

Earnings Grow Federal and Michigan Income Tax-deferred
When an individual client contributes to MESP, their account earnings have the opportunity to grow federal and Michigan income tax-deferred until withdrawn.

Any Earnings Used to Pay for Qualified Higher Education Expenses Are Federal and Michigan Income Tax-Free
The earnings portion of any distributions used to pay for qualified higher education expenses will be free from federal and Michigan income tax. This federal income tax-free treatment of qualified withdrawals and other federal tax benefits are now permanently in place for 529 plans through the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Michigan Income Tax Deduction
Families may also be eligible for a Michigan income tax deduction. A taxpayer is permitted a net contribution deduction from Michigan adjusted gross income for a contribution to an Account less any Qualified Withdrawals from such Account during the tax year. A taxpayer is permitted to aggregate the net contribution amount to each Account for a total contribution deduction for the tax year. Such aggregated contribution deduction cannot exceed a total of $5,000 for a single return or $10,000 for a joint return for that tax year. Amounts transferred from another 529 college savings plan are not eligible for the Michigan income tax deduction.

Federal Estate and Gift Tax Benefits
Contributions to MESP may reduce the taxable value of an estate. Contributions to MESP, together with all other gifts from the account owner to the beneficiary, may qualify for an annual federal gift tax exclusion of $13,000 per donor, per beneficiary for 2009. If an account owner's contribution to a MESP account for a beneficiary in a single year exceeds $13,000, the account owner may elect to treat up to $65,000 of the contributions, or $130,000 for joint filers, as having been made over a period of up to five years for federal gift tax exclusion.

Read more about our plan's features:

Investment Options

Investment Performance

Learn why it's so important to start now.

HELP PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION

Call us toll-free at 1-877-861-MESP
(1-877-861-6377) to:

Meet with a MESP Program Representative to discuss information for school nights, participation in special school programming, possible sponsorship for school events.
Arrange MESP seminars or webinars at your location.

Request these resources:

A Fun Family Activity Book (PDF, 2.4MB)

Program Brochures (PDF, 277KB)

Remind families to set up the Automatic Contribution Plan (PDF, 157KB) or use Payroll Deduction (PDF, 45KB) for their contributions.

Check out our FAQ and read the MESP Disclosure Booklet and Participation Agreements (PDF, 476KB).

PDF files require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Get it here.

TELL A FRIEND


	Let a friend know about the Michigan Education Savings Program.

	Calculate Your Savings Need

	Compare College Savings Options

	Questions? Call 1-877-861-6377

	Michigan Education Trust

The tax information contained on the Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP) Web site is not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. It was written to support the promotion of the products and services addressed in the Web site. Taxpayers should seek advice based on their own particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in the Michigan Education Savings Program. Please call toll-free 1(877) 861-6377 for a Disclosure Booklet containing this information. Read it carefully.

Before investing in a 529 plan, you should consider whether the state you or your designated beneficiary reside in or have taxable income in has a 529 plan that offers favorable state income tax or other benefits that are only available if you invest in that state's 529 plan.

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, distributes MESP. The State of Michigan, its agencies, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and its affiliates do not insure any account or guarantee its principal or investment return except for TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company's guarantee to MESP under the funding agreement for the Principal Plus Interest Option. Account value will fluctuate based upon a number of factors, including general market conditions.

Investment management, program administration and distribution of The Michigan Education Trust (MET) program is provided solely by the Michigan Department of Treasury. MET is not managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. nor is it distributed by TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC.

The MESP Web site contains links to other Web sites. Neither MESP nor TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. and its affiliates are responsible for the content of those other Web sites. The accuracy of information on those sites cannot be confirmed.