Welcome to the Financial Times Lexicon

Browse thousands of words and phrases selected by Financial Times editors and suggest new terms for the glossary.

 

Term of the day

529 plans

Named after a section of the US federal tax code created in 1996, 529 college savings plans are designed to allow families and individuals to save for future college costs in a tax advantaged way.

Sponsored by individual states, 529 college savings plans allow individuals to designate a “beneficiary” that can use the money in the account to pay for eligible college expenses. Once money is placed in a 529 plan account, it is invested in stock mutual funds, bond funds, money market funds or other...