18A:71B-68 - Prepaid Higher Education Expense Trust Fund
18A:71B-68 Prepaid Higher Education Expense Trust Fund.
5. a. There is created within the Prepaid Higher Education Expense Board the Prepaid Higher Education Expense Trust Fund. The fund shall consist of State appropriations, moneys acquired from other governmental or private sources, and moneys remitted in accordance with advance payment contracts. Dividends, interest, and gains accruing to the fund shall increase the total funds available for the program.
b.Any funds associated with contracts for which refunds are due, but have not been claimed, shall increase the total funds available for the program. However, the board shall establish procedures for notifying purchasers of any unclaimed refund and shall establish a time period after which a refund may not be claimed.
c.Any balance contained in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain therein and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of the program.
d.The assets of the fund shall be maintained, invested, and expended solely for the purposes of this act and shall not be loaned, transferred, or otherwise used by the State for any purpose other than the purposes of this act. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the board from investing in, by purchase or otherwise, bonds, notes or other obligations of the State or an agency or instrumentality of the State.
e.Unless otherwise specified by the board, assets of the fund shall be expended in the following order of priority:
(1)to make payments to institutions of higher education on behalf of qualified beneficiaries;
(2)to make refunds upon cancellation of advance payment contracts; and
(3)to pay the costs of program administration and operations.
f.The board shall administer the fund in a manner that is sufficiently actuarially sound to defray the obligations of the program. The board shall annually evaluate or cause to be evaluated the actuarial soundness of the fund. If the board determines a need for additional assets in order to preserve actuarial soundness, the board may adjust the terms of subsequent advance payment contracts to ensure soundness.
g.If the board finds that a surplus in the fund exists, the board may compensate purchasers of advance payment contracts in a manner that the board determines to be appropriate.
L.2001,c.262,s.5.