SECURE Act - Federal Changes to Your 529 Plan

On December 20, 2019, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 was signed into law. This federal spending bill included new 529 plan-specific provisions that allow 529 plan account owners to withdraw assets to pay for certain expenses associated with apprenticeship programs registered and certified by the Secretary of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act, and to pay principal and interest on certain qualified education loans for the beneficiary of your account or any of the beneficiary’s siblings. The loan repayment provisions apply to repayments up to $10,000 per individual. This $10,000 is a lifetime amount, not an annual limit.

According to the Act, the withdrawals described above will not be considered taxable distributions by the IRS. As always, we encourage account owners to consult a qualified tax professional about these new developments and how they relate to their personal situation.  We also encourage you to read more about these new provisions here.

You can submit reimbursement requests to GET electronically by logging in to your GET account and navigating to the “Using Units” section; by fax to 360.704.6200;  or by email to getinfo@wsac.wa.gov. You may also hand deliver or send via FedEx or UPS a printed form to our office at 917 Lakeridge Way SW, Olympia, WA 98502. Forms can be found online on our forms page.