Opinion: Common Misconceptions about 529 Plans

Many families and individuals who want effective and efficient ways to save for education expenses often turn to the ever-popular 529 plan, which offers wide-ranging tax benefits. In recent years, the scope of 529 savings plan has expanded with several new features, many of which are often overlooked. If you anticipate that someone in your life may benefit from a 529, it’s important to understand the advantages – and common myths – of this unique savings vehicle. 

 

Four common 529 plan misconceptions:

 

#1) A 529 is just for college. It is a common misunderstanding that 529 plans can only be used for higher education or college expenses. While the 529 plan was originally created to save for college costs, it has since expanded to be a broader savings vehicle. For example, 529 funds can now be used for qualified expenses for apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, educational loan payments (up to $10,000 total), and specific K-12 tuition (up to $10,000 per year). The major value of a 529 plan is that any withdrawal from the fund that is designated as a qualified educational expense such as tuition and books is free from federal income taxes, and in some cases, state income tax. 

 

#2) I must have children to open a 529. You do not have to have children to open a 529 for a beneficiary. Adults over the age of 18 can open a 529 plan for themselves or for another student, including a parent, grandparent, extended family or friend. You also can open a 529 plan for future children or grandchildren before they’re born, which is a tremendous advantage as it allows savers to take advantage of a long-time horizon for funds to grow. If you are anticipating a future student’s need for educational cost-assistance, you can start a 529 plan and name yourself the beneficiary and switch the account from yourself to the student at any point in the future. However, keep in mind there may be tax consequences if you change the beneficiary to someone outside of the original beneficiary’s family. Consider the relationship between any initial and intended beneficiary in advance of opening any plan. It is also important to note that the owner of the 529 plan must switch over the account to the appropriate beneficiary before withdrawals can take place. 

 

#3) 529 plans rule out need-based financial aid. Opening and utilizing a 529 can impact distributions of financial aid based on need, but it does not rule it out completely. A 529 owned by a parent or student is considered an asset under the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), which can reduce the ability to receive need-based financial aid, but only by a small percentage of the asset's value. It is still possible to receive need-based financial aid if you have 529. 

 

#4) I must use all the money in the account. You do not have to use all the funds in a 529 for education expenses. If you have funds remaining in your 529 plan – perhaps a child received a significant scholarship or a grandchild chose an alternative path over college – you may reallocate them. Starting in 2024, beneficiaries of a 529 plan that has been in place for more than 15 years can allocate the assets from the 529 account to a Roth IRA, which can be a great option to increase retirement savings in lieu of education expenditures. The lifetime maximum that can be transferred from a 529 plan to a Roth IRA is $35,000. 

 

If transferring the funds to a Roth IRA does not make sense for your financial plan, you can utilize the money in a 529 for other expenses, but keep tax and penalty consequences in mind. For example, if the funds are used for expenses that are not designated as qualified education expenses, the earnings portion of the withdrawal is subject to federal, and likely state, income tax as well as a 10% federal penalty. Make sure to consult a tax advisor for additional guidance. 

 

A 529 plan can be a valuable saving tool if you have a desire to support the education of one or more loved ones in your life. Your financial advisor can help you understand if a 529 makes sense for your situation and how to plan for one of life's biggest expenses while staying attuned to your long-term goals.

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1 – Ameriprise Financial: “529 plans: frequently asked questions”.  https://www.ameriprise.com/financial-goals-priorities/education-planning/529-plan-FAQ 

 

Michael D. Lanuto, CRPC®, AWMA® is a Financial Advisor with S.M. Miller & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. in Albany, NY.  He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 9 years. To contact him: 518-949-2039; 4 Atrium Drive, Ste 200, Albany, NY, 12205; Michael.Lanuto@ampf.com; https://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/michael.lanuto/lp/request-contact/3/. 

 

Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value.   

 

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and its affiliates do not offer tax or legal advice. Consumers should consult with their tax advisor or attorney regarding their specific situation.      

 

Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results.

 

Securities offered by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC.   

 

© 2024 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.    

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NYPA Enrolls in National Program to Conserve Monarch Butterfly Habitat

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has signed a voluntary conservation agreement to proactively maintain habitat for monarch butterflies – a declining species – along rights-of-way under Authority owned and operated transmission lines throughout New York State. The Power Authority’s enrollment into the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) recognizes the utility’s commitment to take actions that benefit the butterfly species as the federal wildlife organization releases a proposal to list the beloved butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

“The Power Authority is proud to play a role in the preservation of the monarch butterfly species,” said Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. “Enrolling in this agreement demonstrates NYPA’s commitment to proactive, voluntary support for biodiversity. We’ve long recognized the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem and have taken this action to ensure our transmission corridors provide a high-quality habitat for monarchs visiting our great state in the summer through the fall.”  

 

NYPA’s application to enroll its ROWs in the Monarch CCAA, which focuses on land managed by utilities and transportation agencies, furthers the creation of a widespread network of land to benefit monarch habitat across the nation.

Populations of monarch butterflies have been declining over many years and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined in 2020 that there is sufficient evidence to justify a listing designation under the Endangered Species Act. As of Dec. 10, the Service released a proposal to designate the monarch as a threatened or endangered species. The Service is accepting public comments on the proposal until March 12. For more information about the proposal and how to submit public comments visit: https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-12/monarch-butterfly-proposed-endangered-species-act-protection. .

 

The monarch is probably the best known of all migratory butterflies, especially in North America and in New York. After overwintering  in the south, it migrates north in the spring and back south again in the fall. It is the only butterfly that makes such a lengthy two-way migration, although no single individual makes the round-trip journey. The migration process involves several generations. In New York, monarchs arrive in mid-May and leave town around mid-October. It relies on milkweek plants to lay its eggs and feed monarch caterpillars.

 

NYPA is an early adopter of such practices to protect high-quality monarch habitat and has for decades employed right-of-way vegetation management practices that enhance wildlife and pollinator habitat. Being enrolled in the CCAA program attests to NYPA surpassing the minimum requirements and following approved practices as it commits to maintaining more than 10,000 acres of monarch habitat on its roughly 1,400 circuit miles of rights of way. NYPA plans to expand its enrollment to include its power generation landholdings and increase the acres of monarch habitat it maintains in the future.

 

NYPA applies high industry standards for evaluating its sustainable vegetation management techniques and previously received recognition.
 

• NYPA has been accredited by the Right-of-Way Stewardship Council as ROW Steward since 2013. This national recognition acknowledges NYPA’s environmental stewardship recognizing excellence in the practice of Integrated Vegetation Management ensuring safety, security, access and regulatory compliance in an environmentally beneficial, cost-effective manner.
•  
• NYPA tracks the quality of pollinator habitat on its rights of way by using field surveys and advanced pollinator scorecards. NYPA uses the Tier 3 (i.e. the most detailed) Pollinator Scorecard developed by the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group to assess pollinator habitat quality on its transmission rights-of-way..

 

 

About NYPA

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 17 generating facilities and more than 1,550 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn.

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Roxbury FD Annual Organizational Meeting Notice

Please take notice that the Annual Organizational meeting for the Roxbury Fire District of the Town of Roxbury, County of Delaware, NY, will be held on the 9th day of January 2025 at 7:00pm at the Roxbury Fire House, located at 53613 State Highway 30, Roxbury, NY 12474.   

This notification is being given to the news media pursuant to the provisions of Section 94 of the Public Officers Law of the State of NY by order of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Roxbury Fire Department. 

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Late Fall Thaw

Delaware and Ulster Counties have experienced varied levels of drought since July. The welcomed rain from the Emerson to Margaretville has filled our rivers, streams, lakes flush with water once again. Photo by Robert Brune.

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The Art of the Wreath in Pine Hill

By Robert Brune

PINE HILL — The second annual wreath auction at the Pine Hill Community Center, which had 25 wreaths last year, drew more participants with 37 wreaths created by local artists. This fundraiser helps keep the lights and heat on in this vital venue which invites the farmer’s markets indoors throughout the winter months. 

‘Wacky Wendy’ Brackman MC’ed an enthusiastic and entertaining auction of beautiful and creative wreaths. Several of the items went for over one hundred dollars from many of the most gifted artists donating to this worthy cause. 

The auction brought in $2,000 with two thirds of the wreaths sold, all with additional money raised from the chili festival.

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Bon Voyage

By Leslie Stankiewicz

Well attended, was a mild statement, the room was packed with people Saturday, December 7 to see off Robert Brune, who is spending the winter in Florida. The space between them so tight navigation even to one side or another became almost impossible. There was laughter just over the hum of humans all talking to each other, all the conversations happening at the same time. Food and drinks on one side, new paintings from the previous night on the wall, so fresh 

were they, that there had to be an announcement about the crowd not brushing up against them. 

This was the bon voyage of a man who helped to make us all acquaintances and his artist 

gatherings furthered the process of making us all friends. As I looked around, I was shocked at how I knew almost all of them. It was not a goodbye forever party, just a "so long for now," and when he asked for quiet and shared some thoughts, he made a promise to return by May. He thanked us all for coming together and told us just how much we meant to him. There was a wetness in his eyes that showed warmth from his equally kind face as I felt the love he had for each of us, and I was suddenly humbled. 

As a newspaperman who had written at one time or another about each of us, he had gotten to know us one at a time. By his own admission, coming up here to the mountains was a culture shock, and though well-wishers from warmer places warned against mountain people and bears, five years ago he had made the journey anyway. Not knowing a soul, it was starting over, and it was a gamble.

As one who has been marginalized herself, I know what it's like to be in a new place with a room 

full of strangers and feel alone. Our friend never made me feel anything but loved, and special in my own way, and he had a gift as he wrote about our talents to make each one of us shine. The room was not full of scary strangers, it was full of warm loving friends, and as I brushed back a tear of my own, I thought, here was a special human that we all came to honor for good reason and he would be missed.

I love you, my friend, good luck on this part of your journey

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Amy Masters Family Portraits at Art Up

By Robert Brune

MARGARETVILLE — This exhibition by Amy Masters is a brilliant evolution of her past painting abstract/expressionist concepts with her signature blues, greens, and yellows. 

Masters introduces new figures representing human, community, and environmental elements which was received well by fellow artists and friends at the Art Up gallery opening reception this past Friday evening 

Amy Masters will be doing an art talk at Art Up at 746 Main St Unit 4, Margaretville on Saturday, January 4th at 2 pm. 

For more information see @artupmargaretville and @amyrachelmasters on Instagram 

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Bruised Fruit: Hiding the Truth Finale

By Max Oppen

Addiction is like a power outage in your house. Suddenly, everything goes dark. The breaker trips, and you're left in a world of predators—freaks who move like drooling wolves, circling an injured elk, waiting for their chance to take you down. These people and their poison find their way in through cracks in the window, under the door, or even riding a ray of sunshine or a speck of dust. They are always watching.

A little paranoia can be healthy—it's in our DNA to survive. But when you can step back, even for a moment, and look at your addiction from a distance, the monsters become easier to spot (and steer clear from). For me, it's like working at Hunter Mountain.

Just yesterday, I was on top of that mountain, looking out across the Catskills. But today, from the valley below, the whole thing feels different, more evident. When you are consumed by active addiction, it's like you're in the valley, looking at sobriety from far away. But when you're sober, you are present, looking over all the destruction you've caused. That's how I try to see my addiction—far enough away to understand it, even if I can never escape it completely. Just because I am a recovering drug addict doesn't mean my addiction has gone away. It remains with me forever.

If you let it, addiction will destroy everything and everyone you hold dear. Sometimes it feels like it's woven into your DNA, but not always. Some of us are the black sheep—the only ones in our family consumed by fear, numbing ourselves from reality. Friends and family watch with sadness and irritation. You become a thorn in your own side, bleeding yourself dry.

No one can save you. If you want to figure out this game of life, you must fight for sobriety—assertively, cleverly, and sometimes ruthlessly. My family sees me, a middle-aged man, struggling in quicksand, sinking. Financial woes surround me, and I'm up to my neck. As I've said before, sometimes you must let everything crumble before you can pick up the pieces, brick by brick, to rebuild.

I've been wandering this life like a zombie, feeding my addicted mind with toxic chemicals instead of raw brains. Sobriety doesn't erase your problems. In fact, it makes them sharper. But in the clarity of sobriety, you learn to navigate them better.

When addiction takes over, it's like the darkness after the breaker trips. You stumble blindly, bumping into things you'd avoid if you could see. The darkness swallows you whole—wolves howling, predators closing in. I've lived in that darkness for so long that now, in the light, everything feels raw, bright, and overwhelming.

But the darkness, for all its horror, can feel like a cocoon—a womb of sorts. Facing the light takes courage. I've been a coward, hiding from the day. That's changed now.

For many people with an addiction, the breaker trips over and over until we're tired of stubbing our toes on unseen obstacles. When we finally see the light, it's blinding and painful. But that harsh light softens if we stay the course, build healthy habits, and make careful choices. We begin to see mountains for the molehills they really are.

Writing these columns has been a lifeline. Walking around high school basketball games, camera in hand, I wonder if my readers recognize me. I hope my words have helped someone—just one person would make sharing my darkest truths worth it. I am not a victim of my own choices; I was a willing participant in wrecking my life.

These columns have been healing, but they're also a reminder. If you think your child is immune to addiction, you haven't been paying attention. If I had never touched a drug, I might never have known the beast that lived inside me, waiting to be unleashed.

I want to thank my editor, Matt Avitabile, Elide Bell of Mountain Top Cares Coalition, Nick (my recovery coach), my community, and everyone in the NA rooms who reached out to me and continues to do so. To my family: I love you, even though I've felt abandoned. That's something I need to work on, and I will.

I still have work to do. It has been weeks since I have been to a meeting. It's easy to make excuses—"I'm too busy"—but I always found time to poison myself. Always. I know I will not be successful if I continue to procrastinate.

Today, I've been clean for over four months, one day at a time. If you need help, please get in touch with Mountain Top Cares at www.mountaintopcarescoalition.com, attend an NA or AA meeting, email me at oppenmax@gmail.com, or call me at 518-788-7050. Stay safe out there.

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THE CATSKILL GEOLOGISTS BY PROFESSORS ROBERT AND JOHANNA TITUS - The Final Destruction of Notre Dame?

Like so many, we are happy to hear of the reconstruction of the great Notre Dame Cathedral. Its near obliteration five years ago was a bad moment for all of western civilization. We certainly didn’t think that there was a Mountain Eagle column in that news. After all, we are the Catskill Geologists, not the Cathedral Geologists. But then we ran across a map view of the site. Take a look at our illustration, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Notre Dame lies on the westernmost of two stretched out islands that lie within the Seine River, right in the middle of Paris. Actually, island is not exactly the best word to use here. Technically, this is something that geologists call a longitudinal sand bar. In fact, both of these islands are sand bars. 

                                                                                   

We ask you, what sounds more permanent, sand bar or island? Yes, of course, we began to see that there was something here that we should learn more about. A longitudinal sand bar is an unusually large accumulation of sediment deposited in the middle of a stream. That happens when the river is carrying too much sediment. It “parks” that sediment temporarily in the form of a sizable bar. These are commonplace features in large rivers all over the world. We have a good one at Rogers Island. below the Rip Van Winkle Bridge where it spans the Hudson. The next time you are crossing the river look down and see it. 

The word temporary is critical here. How long is that? What happens at the end of “temporary” and what brings temporary to an end? Will Notre Dame be destroyed by raging floodwaters and carried off, in bits, down the Seine?  This is good, even great geoscience and, once we were on to it, we were eager to pursue the issue. We know Rogers Island quite well; we cross it frequently. The island is heavily forested. That means it has been there long enough for those trees to grow. The Notre Dame sandbar has been there for more than 800 years. No, these sandbars may be temporary, but they are long lasting. We don’t expect the flooding of Notre Dame any time soon so let’s assume that longitudinal bars do survive very long periods of time. Then what is it that does end those long lengths of time?

We, as scientists, have to do some hypothesizing here. Our first guess involves climate change. We are guessing that the longitudinal bars go back to a time when rainfall rates had been high but were slowing down. With less water in it, the Seine was also slowing down and losing its ability to carry sediment. It had to park its sands and silts right there, in the middle a future Paris. Another hypothesis is that sea levels had, a long, long time ago, been lower than they are now. There was a lot more downhill for the Seine and its steepness forced it to flow faster and carry more sediment. When the sea level rose, perhaps at the end of the Ice Age, then the river’s flow slowed down too, and it lost its ability to transport sediment. On both cases it will require a major climate change or a substantial sea level fall for the sandbar and its Cathedral to be destroyed.

If we were doing serious professional peer reviewed science we would go on and try to develop more hypotheses, but for today we can stop here. Those longitudinal bars are very old; they won’t last forever but they will last a very long time – by human standards. Fire continues as a far more immediate threat to Notre Dame.

Contact the authors at randjtitus@prodigy.net.” Join their facebook page “The Catskill Geologist.” Read their blogs at “thecatskillgeologist.com.”

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A Conversation about The Birch

By Jean Thomas

I had an epiphany (also known as a light bulb moment) when I took my daily walk on an alternate path. I have several routes I follow, and this particular one goes past a beautiful small pond surrounded by birches. I was daydreaming about my column last week about Ben the Oak and wondering if I should have revealed that the squirrel that started the whole saga was called Barry. I often have second thoughts about what I write.

I shook off my doubts and glanced toward the pond. It was beautiful, surrounded by snowy evergreens and pristine white birches. Perhaps because I had been thinking about Ben the oak and his posture, I realized that all the birches were leaning over the water, weighed down by the snow. I have observed this over the years, and it is often a permanent condition among birches.

After a moment fantasizing about a lady birch named Eileen marrying my friend Ben the oak to engender a hybrid oak-birch dynasty of trees called, of course, the Dovers, I snapped out of it and just admired the beautiful birches. While the oaks are rightly famous for their strength and size, the birches are quietly beautiful and have virtues other than their landscaping value. There are many species of birch, the most famous in our area being the paper birch. The birch genus is mostly native to the Northern hemisphere, needing cool seasons, damp soil, (usually) high altitude, and bright sunshine. Birch is a valuable wood for flooring, plywood and furniture, and many different species are harvested commercially. 

I wanted to learn more about the paper birch, so I researched. Here’s what I found. The appearance of the paper birch is distinctive because of the bold white color and the black horizontal markings called lenticels. The bark looks like this for a very good reason. The bold white color is to reflect harmful winter sun… a tree can overheat in the winter. Who knew? But the bark is also flaky, which somehow allows photosynthesis in the winter, through the bark. Those black markings, the lenticels, are pores to facilitate exchange of CO2 and oxygen. 

The bark can be peeled off the trunk in sheets, which was a feature that made it possible for the indigenous people to utilize it for canoes, baskets and other water proof containers. The Neanderthals made spears (for hunting mammoths) from birch wood, and the glue to attach the points from the sap of the birch. The wood of the tree is amenable to carving, and makes excellent firewood. The sap can be tapped just like maples, and there’s a thing available called birch beer.

Birches are cold-adapted and it makes them susceptible to shortened lives due to climate change, and they are often easily damaged by wind and snow weight because they are what is called a pioneer species and thrive in the open. We rarely see huge birches any more without venturing deep into the Adirondacks or Canada (or Russia), but the species keeps showing up due to an effective seed dispersal system via catkins. The pollen produced is so prolific that it is considered one of the most common allergens, and the season can last for several months. It decreases as grass pollens begin to proliferate. Yay.  I’m glad I got curious about Ben and Eileen, the hypothetical Dover family.

The National Park Service provided much of the information I’m sharing, and the article can be found at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/netn-species-spotlight-paper-birch.htm.

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Whittling Away with Dick Brooks - Squirrels

I was getting the bird feeders ready to put up for another winter and just for a fleeting moment I thought about ways to keep the squirrels from pirating most of the bird food.  I'm by nature a stubborn person and I hate to give up on anything.  It's hard for me to admit that a reasonably intelligent, fully grown, college educated adult human is no match for a two pound rodent who lives in a tree and whose main goal in life appears to become roadkill.  After years of fighting the good fight however, I have to give the little fur balls the credit they deserve, they're smarter than I am.

The war of wits started years ago, I put up one of those tube feeders with three holes in it.  The little birds seemed to enjoy it, flitting about it, hovering and waiting their turn, a sight to warm the heart of any bird watcher--then they appeared, Attila the squirrel and his rowdy bunch.  They ran off all the little feathered critters and then like a group of well trained bank robbers, they raided the tube feeder.  They popped out the aluminum inserts in the holes as easily as I opened a can of adult beverage and proceeded to chew the holes to a size that allowed the seeds inside to rain down on the brigands waiting below.  A good time was had by all and then away they bounded, leaving me holding a useless feeder and trying to fend off a flock of ticked off chickadees.  Of course, this meant war had been declared.

I decided that the tube was really too flimsy and that the birds didn't really need to see the seeds anyway so I took a piece of PVC pipe, drilled holes in it, installed short pieces of dowel under the holes, made a tin top and bottom for it out of an old dog food can, tied a rope to the top and hung it in the tree and stood back to enjoy the now quiet chickadees who were chowing down at the feeder.  I went into the kitchen to see if I could see the feeder from the window there, looked out and what to my wondering eyes should appear but Attila and the boys riding the feeder like it was a ride at Disneyland.  I rushed out into the yard but too late, the feeder hung sideways, the holes gnawed to twice their original size while seeds rained down like a miniature slot machine paying off in Vegas.  Squirrels two--human zero!

I decided it was time to get serious, going to my shop where I store useful things and digging around for a while yielded a length of three inch cast iron pipe.  Perfect!  Let them chew on this baby!  I burned out three drill bits but finally got the holes drilled.  I welded eight penny nails to the pipe for perches, made another dog food can roof and bottom, drilled holes in the top, stuck a length of nylon rope through the holes, filled it and hung it up.  The chickadees happily surrounded it, ate their fil land towards dusk, flew away with little doggie bags to wherever it is that they go for the night.  No squirrels, the new twenty pound bird feeder had stymied the horde of tree rats, I won.  I did a little victory dance and headed for my recliner.

Morning dawned clear and bright, I bounced out of bed, redid my little victory dance.  After a hearty breakfast of coffee, I set about my morning chores.  I went out the porch door and was attacked by a flock of famished chickadees.  Feeder must be empty so I went to fill it.  No feeder hung where one had hung the evening before.  Nothing--gone--not a trace.  I swear I heard the sound of chuckling coming from the maple tree.

A year later, while walking in the woods in back of my shop, I stepped on something under the leaves.  It was my bird feeder, the rascals had chewed through the rope and dragged it into the woods where they could shake the seeds out at their leisure.

All my bird feeders now are flat, easily accessed platforms.  I buy bird seed by the ton and spend much of my time shoveling the seed onto the feeders.  My yard is filled with thirty pound gray squirrels and five pound chickadees.  I admit to being a broken man for a while but lately I've started to smile again and my heart is lighter.  I found an old cook book and one of the recipes is for fried squirrel.

Thought for the week--The young know the rules, the old know the exceptions.

Until next week, may you and yours be happy and well.

whittle12124@yahoo.com

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