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Originally Posted by myselff77
For those parents out there... Do you have a 529 account to save for college?
I'm in an interesting situation being in my early 40's before having kids (only 1). I currently have a Roth, but I'm not close to maxing it out. By the time my son is ready for college, I'll be 60 and in theory can tap into the Roth funds.
Is there any reason to put money into a 529 before maxing out my Roth IRA? From what I can tell, both are very similar, but the 529 can only be used for education otherwise there may be a penalty/tax hit to withdraw the funds.
Seems like I should focus more on the Roth given my age. If I'm not missing anything, it gives me the option of using that money for college bills for the little guy or still have the option to use the money for anything else, without penalty, if the college outlook changes 18 years from now. Anything I'm missing? Thoughts?
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I'd stick it in the Roth. It is far less restrictive. In your case, you might look at a Traditional after you max out your Roth. That will give you a tax benefit in the short term and have similar outcomes at college time, although the withdrawls would be taxable.
I looked into a 529 plan and concluded the same thing.