166.420. Participation agreements, terms and conditions--contribution limitation--penalty.
Participation agreements, terms and conditions--contributionlimitation--penalty.
166.420. 1. The board may enter into savings program participationagreements with participants on behalf of beneficiaries pursuant to theprovisions of sections 166.400 to 166.455, including the following termsand conditions:
(1) A participation agreement shall stipulate the terms andconditions of the savings program in which the participant makescontributions;
(2) A participation agreement shall specify the method forcalculating the return on the contribution made by the participant;
(3) The execution of a participation agreement by the board shall notguarantee that the beneficiary named in any participation agreement will beadmitted to an eligible educational institution, be allowed to continue toattend an eligible educational institution after having been admitted orwill graduate from an eligible educational institution;
(4) A participation agreement shall clearly and prominently discloseto participants the risk associated with depositing moneys with the board;
(5) Participation agreements shall be organized and presented in away and with language that is easily understandable by the general public;and
(6) A participation agreement shall clearly and prominently discloseto participants the existence of any load charge or similar charge assessedagainst the accounts of the participants for administration or services.
2. The board shall establish the maximum amount which may becontributed annually by a participant with respect to a beneficiary.
3. The board shall establish a total contribution limit for savingsaccounts established under the savings program with respect to abeneficiary to permit the savings program to qualify as a "qualified statetuition program" pursuant to Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. Nocontribution may be made to a savings account for a beneficiary if it wouldcause the balance of all savings accounts of the beneficiary to exceed thetotal contribution limit established by the board. The board may establishother requirements that it deems appropriate to provide adequate safeguardsto prevent contributions on behalf of a beneficiary from exceeding what isnecessary to provide for the qualified higher education expenses of thebeneficiary.
4. The board shall establish the minimum length of time thatcontributions and earnings must be held by the savings program to qualifypursuant to section 166.435, provided that the minimum length of time shallbe at least twelve months for the amount of any single contribution. Anycontributions or earnings that are withdrawn or distributed from a savingsaccount prior to the expiration of the minimum length of time, asestablished by the board, shall be subject to a penalty pursuant to section166.430.
(L. 1998 H.B. 1694, A.L. 1999 S.B. 460, A.L. 2006 S.B. 641)