HARRISBURG — Potter County resident Stephen Simkovic is among the winners of Pennsylvania Treasury’s PA 529 Day promotion, and will receive a $5,529 deposit in their PA 529 account.

Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that this year’s 529 Day Promotion was the most successful ever, with more than 2,800 new PA 529 College and Career Savings Program accounts opened during May and $61.5 million in contributions made.

Additional winners of the $5,529 deposit are Thad Diehl, Clearfield County; Crystal Longanecker, Westmoreland County; Jodie Meglio, Perry County; and Jason Borawski, Northampton County.

The awards, which are enough to cover a year’s tuition at a Pennsylvania community college, can be used for their children’s future education regardless of the career path they choose – or where they attend school.

“PA 529 accounts are incredibly flexible tools – they can help pay for technical or career training, four-year degrees, apprenticeships and more,” Garrity said. “I’m thrilled to help the Diehl, Longanecker, Simkovic, Meglio, and Borawski families save more for education with our 529 Day promotion.”

The PA 529 Day Promotion helps boost savings for families across Pennsylvania. To be eligible, account owners must have contributed at least $10 to a PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) or PA 529 Investment Plan (IP) account between May 1 and May 31 and be a Pennsylvania resident. Winners are selected at random.

“You don’t have to put a ton of money in,” said award winner Jodie Meglio. “The longer it sits, the more money it will be in the end. Just a few dollars of your pay would work.”

“My wife and I are both educators and see the rising cost of college,” said Jason Borawski. “Using PA 529 has been an easy and worthwhile experience – it’s money well spent!”

“I think PA 529 accounts are a great financial tool for our children,” said Crystal Loganecker. “My husband and I are both first generation college graduates and paid mostly out of pocket.”

PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) and PA 529 Investment Plan (IP) account owners must have contributed at least $10 during May to be eligible to win promotional awards. Altogether, more than $27,000 was deposited in winners’ PA 529 accounts to help boost education savings for Pennsylvania families.

There are more than 319,000 PA 529 accounts with nearly $8.9 billion saved.

The PA 529 College and Career Savings Program helps families steadily and strategically save for future educational expenses like tuition, fees, books, equipment, room and board and more at qualifying colleges and universities, technical schools, and apprenticeship and professional certificate programs. PA 529 plans offer significant state and federal tax advantages. Also, saving with PA 529 does not impact Pennsylvania state financial aid eligibility.

There are two PA 529 plans, the PA 529 GSP, which allows families to save at today’s tuition rates to meet tomorrow’s tuition costs, and the Morningstar Gold-Rated PA 529 IP, which allows families to choose from a variety of investment options.

Families with children born in 2019 and after automatically receive a $100 Keystone Scholars account to jumpstart their savings. Keystone Scholars accounts can be claimed by visiting pa529.com/keystone. This program uses no taxpayer money. Keystone Scholars accounts can be linked to a companion PA 529 account to help families see all their savings together.

“I encourage more families to start saving today with PA 529. Saving early means there’s less to borrow later, and that can make a huge difference for our next generation,” Garrity said.

Visit pa529.com to learn more about the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program.