Afford Anything · Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Paula Pant questions Mike's decision to allocate only $20,000 to his daughter's 529 plan, especially since the daughter will be starting college around the same time Mike plans to retire. She suggests keeping college savings separate from retirement drawdown planning due to potential cash flow changes and sequence of returns risk.
“I noticed there is not a lot of money in the 529 account.”
“I'm curious as to why your daughter is eight years old, she's going to need the money starting in 10 years and then running between 10 to 14 years from now.”
“Given that she'll need it starting in 10 years and through year 14, that means that her sophomore going into junior year is right at that moment, 12 years from now, when you want to retire.”
“Given that she'll need it starting in 10 years and through year 14, that means that her sophomore going into junior year is right at that moment, 12 years from now, when you want to retire.”