MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), today is celebrating College Savings Month by encouraging Wisconsinites to start or boost their college savings through the Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program. Gov. Evers proclaimed September as “College Savings Month” in Wisconsin. A copy of the governor’s proclamation is available here.
“Higher and continuing education are a critical part of our efforts to bolster our state’s workforce and economy and ensure Wisconsin is prepared to meet the demands of the 21st Century,” said Gov. Evers. “For more than 25 years, the Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program has worked to educate families on the costs of higher education and the importance of developing a savings strategy early in a student’s life while providing a critical tool to help them save for those costs.”
The Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program and its college savings plans—Edvest 529, a direct-sold plan, and Tomorrow’s Scholar, available through financial advisors and fee-only planners—are a critical resource for Wisconsinites to start or continue saving for college and career training. Funds saved in an Edvest 529 or Tomorrow’s Scholar account may be used to pay for undergraduate and graduate programs at any accredited public or private university, college, technical school, community college, or professional school nationwide, and many abroad. Qualified expenses include tuition, housing and food costs, required school fees, books, materials, computers, technology, and expenses for services needed by a beneficiary with special needs.
In addition, Wisconsin taxpayers may also use their 529 savings toward the cost of apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Secretary of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act, for certain recognized postsecondary credentials and credential programs, plus associated expenses; for K-12 tuition, books, instructional materials, dual enrollment fees, educational therapies for students with disabilities, and certain tutoring and testing fees (up to $10,000 per year, per beneficiary); and to pay down student loan debt ($10,000 lifetime limit per beneficiary).
“College Savings Month presents the perfect opportunity for families to talk with their students about career aspirations, and to start or continue saving for the higher education or professional training that can make their dreams a reality someday,” said DFI Secretary Wendy K. Baumann. “As your child, grandchild, or other loved one gets older, you can even encourage them to contribute to their own 529 college savings account using some of their allowance or summer job income—a great lesson in financial literacy with lifetime impact.”
Contributions to an Edvest 529 or Tomorrow’s Scholar account grow free from state and federal income tax, and withdrawals are tax-free when used to pay for qualified higher education expenses. Additionally, Wisconsin taxpayers may claim a state income tax deduction on contributions made to a Wisconsin 529 college savings account. Single filers and married couples filing jointly may deduct up to $5,130 per beneficiary, and married couples filing separately may deduct up to $2,560 per beneficiary. This state income tax deduction is available to any Wisconsin taxpayer, not just the 529 plan account owner, making gift contributions a benefit for family members and friends.
To celebrate College Savings Month, the Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program encourages families to start or boost their college savings by:
- Opening an Edvest 529 account between Sept. 8 and Sept. 26, 2025, to receive a $50 bonus contribution. To receive the bonus contribution, a new account must be opened using promo code CSM25 with at least $50 and with recurring contributions of $30 or more for six consecutive months. More information is available here;
- Attending a free Edvest 529 webinar on Sept. 10 or Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. Central Time to discover everything you need to know about saving for college, what the Edvest 529 College Savings Plan can do to help, and how to maximize your savings even on a modest budget. Advanced registration is required; and
- Inviting family and friends to make gift contributions to a student’s Edvest 529 or Tomorrow’s Scholar account. Gift contributions can be made to an Edvest 529 account online via the Ugift® platform. Tomorrow’s Scholar account owners can use the plan’s gifting portal to invite contributions.
To open an Edvest 529 account, or receive assistance with an existing account, visit Edvest.com, or call Edvest 529 customer support at (888) 338-3789, available Mon.-Fri., from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. To work with a financial advisor to open and manage a Tomorrow’s Scholar account, visit 529wi.voya.com, or call Tomorrow’s Scholar customer support at (866) 677-6933, available Mon.-Fri., from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More information about the Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program is available here.
BACKGROUND ON EVERS ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS TO LOWER COSTS FOR WISCONSINITES AND INVEST IN WISCONSIN’S HIGHER AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
Gov. Evers has spent the last year advocating for increased investments in the University of Wisconsin (UW) System to help prevent further campus closures, staff and faculty layoffs, and program cuts and consolidations. Republican lawmakers had previously indicated they planned to cut the UW System by tens of millions of dollars—nearly $90 million—in this state budget, prompting Gov. Evers to threaten to veto the budget in its entirety.
Instead, Gov. Evers negotiated to secure the largest increase for the UW System in nearly 20 years. The 2025-27 Biennial Budget provides over $250 million for the UW System and includes:
- Over $100 million to support UW System campuses statewide to help stabilize the system after recent campus closures, layoffs, and program cuts and consolidations and ensure UW institutions remain economic and workforce hubs in communities across our state;
- $7 million to support 24/7 virtual telehealth mental health services to nearly all students across UW System campuses;
- $54 million to help retain and recruit faculty and staff in high-demand fields of study to ensure UW System institutions remain competitive, world-class institutions;
- Nearly $90 million to increase wages for UW System workers, including faculty and staff; and
- $1 million for UW-Green Bay’s Rising Phoenix Early College High School Program that enables high school students to earn college credits.
In addition to providing the largest increase for the UW System in nearly two decades, the 2025-27 Capital Budget will also make critical investments in capital building projects on campuses across the state, including projects at UW-Madison, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Stout, Milwaukee, Platteville, and Stevens Point, with a nearly $1.2 billion investment.
Gov. Evers knows that the Wisconsin Technical College System is essential to the future of the state’s economy and workforce, providing high-quality, affordable education and training in high-demand fields. The final 2025-27 Biennial Budget invests $13 million over the biennium in supporting Wisconsin’s technical colleges, including:
- $8.3 million in general aid increases to the technical college system to continue efforts to train the workers of the future;
- $3 million to ensure students have the materials and resources they need to learn without breaking the bank; and
- $2 million to provide grants to technical college district boards to support the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare our workers to be ready for the future of AI.
Additionally, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed into law by Gov. Evers includes over $6 million to support the Youth Apprenticeship Program, which gives high school students the opportunity to earn while they learn and gain skills to build careers in high-demand fields. Investing in this program is critical, as the state’s Youth Apprenticeship Program has seen four consecutive years of record-high enrollment, with 11,344 youth apprentices enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year—a 14 percent increase from the prior year.
Gov. Evers also exercised his broad, constitutional veto authority to partially veto aspects of the budget that were outside of the bipartisan budget negotiations. More information about the bipartisan budget signed by Gov. Evers is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
