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NEW YORK

New York's College Savings Program

Type: Savings

Phone: 877-697-2837

State tax deduction for residents: Deduction for contributions up to $5,000 per year ($10,000 for couples).

Open to nonresidents: Yes

Refund provisions: Penalty of 10% of earnings

Minimum/maximum contributions: $25 ($15 through payroll deduction) / $235,000

Other: There no longer is a 36-month waiting period before you can make withdrawals without penalty.

With more than $2.4 billion in assets, this is one of the nation's most popular plans -- and for good reason. Expenses are super low and investment choices are many. Managed by Upromise Investments and The Vanguard Group, New York's plan has three age-based investment options that have outperformed their peers in the past year, plus 12 individual portfolios that have above-average returns, for the most part. Expenses are a low 0.55% to 0.6% of assets, depending on the total program assets.

State College Savings Plans