‘Disgraceful’: Maryland lawmakers question 529 college savings plan leaders

Maryland delegates held a hearing on Thursday to question the state’s 529 college savings plan leaders after families claimed that they couldn’t access all of the money in their accounts for months.

Hundreds of people were unable to access the interest in their Maryland 529 accounts after an interest calculation error was discovered.

“It’s disgraceful, really,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes to plan administrators. “This legislature is really looking at your governance and thinking maybe we need some big changes here.”

Wendy Hall said she was unable to make tuition payments for her son’s tuition because of the problem.

“Our interest, like all the rest of Maryland was frozen,” she said. “So in order to pay Daniel’s fall semester tuition, we refinanced our home.”

529 board leaders said all impacted accounts are being reviewed and the plan now has quality-control measures in place.

“I want to apologize to our account holders for how difficult this has been for you,” said board chairman Peter Tsirigotis.

They have also hired a crisis-management firm.

“Resolving this issue has taken much longer than anticipated and we are still working to review every account impacted,” said the 529 board’s executive director Anthony Savia. “We can and will do better.”

A 529 college savings plan is a state-sponsored investment plan that enables you to save money for a beneficiary and pay for education expenses, according to investment management company BlackRock.