Headline News
LifeCare Poll Reveals No College Funding Plan for
One-Third of Parents

An alarming number of people have no plan in place for funding their children’s college education, according to a recent LifeCare poll conducted online as part of the company’s ongoing series of monthly polls. Client employees were asked to identify the primary source of funding for their children’s college education: 33 percent of respondents said that they have no financial plan in place—the number one response; 28 percent identified 529 Plans as their primary source of funding; 18 percent cited stocks/bonds/mutual funds/CDs; 17 percent cited personal/home equity loans; and two percent said a Roth IRA is their top source.

“These findings may be unsettling,” says LifeCare co-founder and President, John B. Place, “but savvy employers will view this as a tremendous opportunity—the chance to give their employees much-needed assistance in preparing for their children’s future. Employers who seize these kinds of opportunities reap significant rewards in terms of employee satisfaction and loyalty.”

According to Place, tuition planning assistance is a creative and cost-effective way for employers to attract and retain top talent, and also boosts a company’s recruitment and retention levels. LifeCare offers a subsidy administration service that helps employers administer their built-in tuition or scholarship assistance programs or LifeCare can deliver them directly, further reducing administrative costs for HR departments. “Parents don’t have to be the sole source of funding for their child’s college expenses,” says Place. “LifeCare’s academic counselors are on-hand 24/7 to help them identify and understand their options—from popular savings vehicles such as mutual funds, 401(k)/403(b) plans, CDs, Money Market Accounts and 529 plans to financial aid, scholarships, grants, loans, work-study programs, and more.”

	Average College Costs (tuition, fees, room & board) for 2003-04 school year) 4-Year Public = $4,694 (up 14.1% from last year) 4-Year Private = $19,710 (up 6% from last year) Source: The College Board

Place points out that millions of education dollars go unawarded each year—very often because parents and students are unaware of the financial aid application process or believe they’re ineligible.

Under a partnership with Sallie Mae^®, the nation’s leading provider of education funding, LifeCare offers client employees online access to applications for both federal and private loans; loan calculators; information on scholarships; tips on tax credits, including 529 savings plans options; and a test preparation tool that helps students prepare for college entrance exams.

For companies that have large and dispersed employee populations, Place recommends including college and financial planning topics in their e-learning curriculum—a unique, low-cost and convenient method of instruction. He says LifeCare’s “Budgeting Basics” seminar was one of the most frequently requested e-learning employee seminars in 2003, and the company’s growing seminar series now covers 100 topics, including “Preparing for and Applying to College.”

In 2003, assistance with academic issues was among the top-five work/life services requested by LifeCare client employees.