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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a single parent, and the NYT piece is disturbing. I'm already panicking about sending my DD to school in 2015 with a far-too-little-funded 529.

"As with income, there is an “asset protection allowance” for parents. It does takes age into account — a little. A two-parent family in which the older parent is 30 has $9,100 that can’t be touched. If the older parent is 60, the allowance is $45,500.

Now, here’s the weirdest part of the formula: Single parents are allowed a far, far smaller allowance than married parents. A 60-year-old single parent can cordon off only $10,200. This is apparently because the formula is based on very outdated assumptions.

Nowadays, it’s well known that a two-person household does not cost twice as much as a single-person household, so it’s doubtful that two people would need to save twice as much as one — much less four times more. Or put another way, a single person nearing retirement needs to save almost as much as a couple. But the formula forces single parents to cough up more for tuition."[/quote]

I have not looked at the article or the links, but this seems insane to me.

So, if you are 60, you are allowed to keep $45,500 in assets!!!!! What's that supposed to cushion you from if you retire early or become ill? That would not keep our family above the poverty line!! We'd have to sell our house, most of our possessions and live in a low-income rental. Who in their right mind would do this in order to send their child to college???

My kid has got to get into Harvard!! Great aid packages there!! They let you keep a whole lotta your assets!! But fat chance DC gets in there, even with 4.0 and great SATs, ECs, etc. Community College, here we come! [/quote]

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