Please note that this transcript was auto-generated. We apologize for any minor errors in spelling or grammar.

Jonathan Hughes: [00:00:00] Hi folks, and welcome to the MEFA Podcast. My name is Jonathan Hughes.

Julie Shields Rutyna: And I’m Julie Shields Rutyna.

Jonathan Hughes: Hey Julie.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Hi, Jonathan.

Jonathan Hughes: How are you?

Julie Shields Rutyna: Doing great. How about you?

Jonathan Hughes: Good, good. It’s nice to be with you here at the end of the year celebration for us on the MEFA Podcast. So this is our end of the year wrap up. So not just on the MEFA podcast, but from MEFA in general.

So what does that mean? To pull it back a little bit, MEFA has as its mission to help families to plan, save, and pay for college and career. To meet financial goals. That sort of encompasses every bit of what we do here and throughout the year as we’re offering products like the U Fund and the U Plan, the Attainable program, MEFA Loans.

We’re also engaging in a constant [00:01:00] outreach and guidance campaign, helping families to navigate the road to college. Career and financial security and this podcast, the Mifa podcast, that is, is part of that outreach effort.

Julie Shields Rutyna: So true. And there are a lot of different ways to do that. We’re in the community through our ambassador program, speaking to families and students at high schools and places of business.

And we’re also of course, available online so that. Anyone can access MEFA guidance whenever and wherever it’s most convenient for them to do that. And that means articles, calculators, posts on social media videos, recorded webinars, and this podcast as well.

Jonathan Hughes: So we thought. A good way to take stock at the end of the year was to see what we did throughout the past year that really resonated with people.

What did they want to hear about? And to see what questions did they have, and [00:02:00] really, where should we go next year, which brings this to mind. If you have a topic that you think we should cover on this show or in any form, please let us know. Email us at [email protected]. Call us at 800-449-MEFA or find us on Facebook that’s @MEFAMA, on X at @MEFATweets, and on Instagram at @MEFA_MA, let us know what you want us to talk about, please. But let’s see what struck a chord with folks throughout this past year? And let’s start with our savers. So families with young children who aren’t yet dealing with questions of how do I get into college or how can I become a veterinarian?

Just some of those families who are saving or just beginning to think about the very vague future for their students. So let’s see, our most popular. Content for these families. What do we have, Julie?

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes. We did a lot of talking about 5 29 plans this year. [00:03:00] So some of our pop most popular articles included the Massachusetts college savings tax deduction.

Yep. And that breaks down frequently asked questions about the tax deduction that you plan. You fund savers who pay Massachusetts State taxes can claim for making contributions to those plans.

Jonathan Hughes: And so what are those actual tax deductions then, Julie?

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yes. So if you are saving in a you plan prepaid tuition program, or you fund 5 29 plan or both, you can deduct up to a thousand dollars of your contributions for the year on your mass state tax return.

And that’s if you’re an individual and if you are married, you can deduct $2,000. For married filing jointly. And that sounds simple enough, but there are always questions about who can claim the taxes, how that is handled. And that’s what this article covers. And we’ll post [00:04:00] all of these in the show notes as well.

Another article is, should I Save for College in a 5 29? A Roth IRA and that’s aimed at those parents who are wondering what’s the best vehicle to use to save for college. And another popular article was Able Accounts and 5 29 College Savings Plans. And that details these two different programs able being a tax advantage investment for v for people with disabilities to be able to save.

Jonathan Hughes: I know that, speaking from the podcast point of view, our most popular podcast episode by far, not just throughout the, this past year, but. Our most popular one period belongs to 5 29 plans because it was a, it was actually a really big year for 5 29 plans this year.

A lot of exciting changes for 5 29 plans. And so the episode that we, that I’m talking about that was so popular is when Corey Latham from Fidelity Investment stopped by to talk to us about the new expanded [00:05:00] uses for five 20 nines.

Cory Latham: So there were a couple different key areas in the bill that we’re really focusing on, was.

One was around that K through 12 dose usage and the expanded uses that we have. The other one was really around credentialing programs. So currently the amount for K through 12 expenses is $10,000. That’s going to actually expand to $20,000 per year. That doesn’t go into effect until the next tax year. So beginning 2026.

So what it really focuses on is expenses that are in the connect, that are in connection with the enrollment and attendance. At an elementary school or a secondary school. So what are some of those things? It’s curriculum or curriculum materials, books or instruction materials, online education materials, tuition for tutoring or classes outside the home.

Certain conditions have to be met for that. Fees for nationally standardized achievement tests, advanced placement exams, college admissions exams and also like certain [00:06:00] educational therapies for students with disabilities. Occupational, behavioral, physical speech language therapies.

Jonathan Hughes: And so let’s talk about the credentialing programs now.

Cory Latham: Yeah. This bill expanded qualified higher education expenses that can be distributed to include qualified post-secondary credential expenses. So what are some of those tuition fees, books, supplies, and equipment. Required for enrollment or attendance of a beneficiary in a recognized post-secondary credential program or any other expense occurred in connection with enrollment or attendance within that recognized post-secondary credential program.

Julie Shields Rutyna: And finally, I want to mention a tool on mifa.org, which was really popular with families who are saving. And that was our college cost projector.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay. And what’s, what is that, Julie?

Julie Shields Rutyna: Yeah. It’s a tool that looks at what the cost of college may be in years ahead based on what tuition [00:07:00] and other costs are now, and what the rate of increase has been.

And so it calculates out. This amount for different types of colleges, like community colleges, for your public colleges, for your private colleges. And this is for parents who maybe are saving and want to know how much college might cost at the time that their student goes to college in the future. These numbers are the sticker price.

So without financial aid, most families will not pay the full sticker price.

Jonathan Hughes: Yeah, so be careful when you’re looking at those. I remember when my son was just born and my colleague said, let’s see what college is going to be for him when he turns 18. And remember, those numbers are the sticker price, not what you’re going to get for aid.

That’s important to keep in mind. Most families will be eligible for some level of financial aid, so this is not necessarily. What you’re going to have to pay. So what do we have for families with kids who are maybe closer to being ready to move on to college or career [00:08:00] readiness? Yeah.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Some information we have that’s very popular is information about scholarships.

So people always want scholarship opportunity information. They want to know. What scholarships are out there and how can they apply? So we promote scholarship tips, how to apply and search for scholarships, and also specific scholarships to apply to. So some scholarships you can apply to before you even get to high school.

One of our most popular articles was an article entitled, scholarships for Elementary. And middle school students, and it had over 12,000 views.

Jonathan Hughes: That surprised me that you could apply for scholarships so early. I’m not surprised that was a really popular post. So that, that, that sort of, addresses our middle school student audience.

But what about our high school students? Perhaps they’re looking at careers, perhaps they’re looking at colleges. What do we have for those students?

Julie Shields Rutyna: One of our most popular podcasts was with our friend Mark [00:09:00] Stucker. From your college bound kid, where he talked about trends in college admissions.

So those looking to apply to colleges should know information from this from this podcast, and let’s have a minute to hear from him.

Jonathan Hughes: What are some other ways that students should think about whether or not this college that they’ve been admitted to? Is a good fit for them?

Mark Stucker: It’s a great question. And I’d say one of the most important ones is social fit.

Am I going to be, how are people going to like me? Am I going to like them? Am I going to find my type of kid and do I feel comfortable? Can I see myself there? And the best way to do that is to visit a school and to talk to a lot of students. That’s the single best way to do it. Trust your instincts on a visit, you’ll get a feel.

And talk to a lot of students and ask them the tough questions. I like to tell our students, I, and this is what I do I’m about to do a 26 day trip to Texas and I’ll be visiting a bunch of colleges one a day, and I sit foot on campus and [00:10:00] I, I plunk myself down there for three and a half hours and I talk to kids and I have my questions.

I like to ask them. I start, I ask, I like, my favorite question for opening is. Tell me what you think are the best things about this institution. So then they talk, and then I go in the opposite direction. I say, if you could change anything and you were in charge, what would you change? And then I say, what did you not know until you got here?

And then I say, what kind of student like really does well here? And what kind of student, really doesn’t, and you start, you ask enough people, those kinds of questions, you get a real good sense. But the problem is. That, that type of visit is very resource intensive, right? It takes time and money, and then a lot of introverts aren’t uncomfortable having those conversations as well.

So school newspapers are great. Almost all of them have back copies and you can go and read them on their websites because they’re never intended to be for prospective students. So you’ll find out what the hot topics are, especially if you read like letters to the editor and you can really get a sense of.

What’s [00:11:00] swirling around campus and where the buzz is. And then some of the social media sites are quite good, like Zeemee, such just social media put on by college campuses where a bunch of students all interested in the same school to get together and chat and reading reviews. I once had a parent from Denver I was working with, and she asked me about a student for her daughter, and she said, on the one hand, it seems like, and she said all these positives, but she said on the other hand, then she shared all these negatives.

And she’s I’m trying to figure out which one is true. Now it’s a school. I knew really well. But I was like, just mesmerized that she had all of these insights. And so I was like, how do you know all these things? Because kind of everything that she was saying from my perspective was true. And she was like I read a couple hundred reviews. Wow. So you can just go to websites like Niche and Unico and many others. You can literally read hundreds of reviews, and I encourage people to look at the stuff that gets, just keeps getting repeated over [00:12:00] and over again.

Jonathan Hughes: So what about financial aid? So much of the guidance that we offer centers on financial aid and best practices as far as filing those forms?

Julie Shields Rutyna: One of the most popular items on our website is our SAI calculator. So families can get to that on mifa.org. And what that is SAI stands for Student Aid Index, and that’s the number that a family receives after they complete the FAFSA.

Okay, so that’s the number that they receive. And what that is a, an estimate of what the family will pay for one year of college. Their student aid index. And it may not be the actual amount that the family pays, but it’s an eligibility index. Gives a family a sense of what they might.

Expect to pay for college. And so very popular. Let’s say the formula calculates that a family can pay 10,000 for college, [00:13:00] and the student wants to go to a college that costs $50,000, then that’s possible that you could receive the difference. $40,000. In financial aid. Now you may not receive all of that, but you could be eligible for up to that.

So again, that just gives a family a sense of how expensive college is going to be for their family and how expensive a specific college might, might be for their family.

Jonathan Hughes: And Julie, when would families be looking at this? SAI calculator.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Really, they could look as early as possible, right? If you have a young child, you can use this SAI calculator just to start to educate yourself about things.

But of course, if it’s 10, 12 years before your child goes to college, your financial situation is going to change over those 10 to 12 years. So it’s something they could use. Continuously. And let’s say you have a senior in high school or a student who is considering going to college in the near future, you could take a few [00:14:00] minutes, put in your information, like your income, your assets, your household size, and then that would go through the formula like the FAFSA does, and give that family a good estimate of what they can expect to be paying for college each year.

Jonathan Hughes: Yeah, I know. It’s a very popular tool and we’re very proud of our SAI calculator. But we’ve also done a lot of financial aid sort of content in terms of articles and things like that throughout the year. I wonder if you can give us a few examples.

Julie Shields Rutyna: We have that’s our expertise, right?

Yeah. So one great article. Lots of people have viewed as what’s reported on the FAFSA. There’s another, what do I include on the CSS profile? And that’s the CSS profile is the other financial aid form that some colleges require in addition to the FAFSA. So we have all kinds of information on the CSS profile.

We have another article. What is the effect of retirement savings on financial [00:15:00] aid? So let’s. Take a minute to see one of our most popular videos too. And this one is filing financial aid for divorced and separated parents.

Susan Beard: I think when at the college level, when we speak with parents. Who are separated or divorced. And Julie, awesome point about married parents too. Sometimes philosophically they’re not on the same page. So we do go a little extra mile to assure separated to divorce parents that their student is of utmost important, their child, right? The process is all about their child and. By filling out forms that are requested by the college.

It’s not obligating them to pay anything. It really is just it’s necessary to determine the most financial assistance that, that their child can get. The other question so that’s one question. I don’t want to pay, so I don’t want to fill out the form. It, that we’re not telling you [00:16:00] to, we’re just, we need the information.

And the other second, I guess most. Biggest concern that we hear about is confidentiality and the intermingling of finances. Some families that are divorced or separated are wide open with their and willing to share others, as we all know and understand, like to keep things separate.

They separated for a reason and we respect that. The whole process is designed to be very confidential. Finances are separated and, it’s just really important that communication keeps or starts early and continues along without, throughout the process. Again, all geared towards the benefit of the child.

Jonathan Hughes: All right, thanks, Julie. Now I actually want to take one minute to plug an episode of the podcast that I am particularly fond of and proud of, and that can appeal to high school students who maybe don’t have college in their plans or other folks who are looking to make a change. [00:17:00] And that is. Or how to become a pilot episode.

So I interviewed two fantastic pilots and they go over step by step how you become a pilot. They were great and that’s something that we have begun to do more and more of on the show and we’ll continue to do more and more of is to highlight specific career pathways. So you want to be a pilot. Here’s how you do it. So let’s take a listen to a clip of that show.

Cliff Lanyi: Flying was a hobby for my, for me, so I had my license by the time I graduated college. I got it that summer. Walked into the office there. It was called Freeway Airport. Tiny little airport. Weeds growing out of the runway, but you could see the White House right after you took off.

So you’re really in close. And I just said I’d like to take flying lessons and the girl at the desk said they were too busy. For the next couple weeks. And I said, that’s fine whenever you have availability. She said, two weeks from now, we got a plane. We’re going to put you with Paul. I said, okay. I don’t know who Paul is.

That sounds fine. So I showed up on the appointed date [00:18:00] and Paul wasn’t particularly nice. The plane was beat up, but I loved it. I was hooked. I signed up for all the lessons I could get after that, by the end of the summer, I had my private pilot’s license. It took me about 45 hours of flying time, about three months.

That’s the private pilot’s license. That’s your, the first one that you got.

Jack Trendell: The private pilot license is the first, and all that means is you can go flying, but you cannot make any money doing it. And then from there you get what’s called an instrument rating.

Cliff Lanyi: The next one was my instrument rating.

That one allows you to fly when the weather is. Too poor to see outside the window. And so what was that like? It was you wore fogles the whole time, basically in, in the training. So you put these glasses on and they block everything outside the windscreen and all you can see is the instrument panel.

And then you go fly around without looking outside.

Jack Trendell: That’s how all of the, people in the airlines fly you something you need, if you want to fly, as most people think of a commercial pilot. And I’ll just

Julie Shields Rutyna: close out with one [00:19:00] more great episode. That’s actually geared towards students who graduated from college and are paying back their student loans.

And this of course, was from our friend. Betsy Mayotte at the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, and she was on to discuss changes to the repayment policies of federal loans.

Betsy Mayotte: Congress did this different than they’ve ever made changes to the student loan programs before. Historically when they’ve made changes in.

In student loan law, they have grandfathered in existing borrowers to existing benefits, and they didn’t do that to that extent this time, which again, and I’ve researched student loan policy back to the seventies, they have never changed. Or removed benefits from existing borrowers.

Jonathan Hughes: And what does that mean?

It means like if you had a loan, if you got a loan out while these options existed, they will al always exist for you.

Betsy Mayotte: Yeah. So the [00:20:00] example I like to give is, so for bar, so back in 1993, there was a big piece of legislation that changed, made really significant changes to student loans. But the way they word it, and this is the way they’ve done it for all changes up until.

Just budget reconciliation here in 2025. If you had loans prior to July 1st, 1993, there was a whole bunch of deferments that you could get. You could get a deferment if you adopted a child. You could get a deferment if you were on maternity leave. You could get a deferment if you were temporarily disabled as opposed to fully disabled.

Now we’re all the way into 2025, more than 30 years later, those borrowers who still have outstanding loans prior to 93 can still get those deferments. They didn’t even take that away as part of this reconciliation bill. The one that just happened, but this time they didn’t do it that way. So the way they did it [00:21:00] this time is, so right now we have an embarrassment of riches as to the amount of different.

Lower payment options that are available to existing borrowers. To go through the list really quickly, there’s the 10 year standard repayment, which is the plan you get if you don’t actively pick another plan when you first go in repayment. There’s extended repayment, there’s graduated repayment, there’s extended graduated repayment, there’s consolidation, there’s new IBR, old IBR, pay as you earn.

Income contingent repayment. We used to have repay that transition into save the courts. Were in the process of killing save. Anyway what this budget reconciliation Bill does is for people with loans today that do not borrow again on or after July 1st, 2026, they can still have access to all the repayment plans that I mentioned, one exception.[00:22:00]

Two exceptions. IC our income contingent repayment and pay as you earn are being phased out, effective July 1st, 2028.

Jonathan Hughes: For everybody.

Betsy Mayotte: For everybody. Borrowers that have loans today can access all the plans I mentioned a minute ago. They can even apply and get on ICR and pay as you were today.

But if they are on pay as you were, or ICR as of July 1st, 2028, the department event’s going to force them onto another plan. Now, if you take out a new loan or consolidate on, or after July 1st, 2026, you lose access to all of those things. So that new borrowing contaminates your existing loans, and that’s not the way Congress has done things ever before, and I think it’s going to cause a lot of people to fall. To accidentally lose access to those plans.

Jonathan Hughes: So Julie, when we look back at all of this content that we offered in the past year and what drove the biggest number of clicks, what [00:23:00] drew the most ears and eyeballs what do you think it tells us about what people are looking for?

Julie Shields Rutyna: I think it shows that families are. Clear answers to specific questions. They want to know what concrete steps they can take to get their applications for financial aid taken care of, how they can apply for scholarships, how much college might cost, or even how they can become a pilot. And so they turn to MEFA Tools, videos, and podcasts to find out.

Jonathan Hughes: And we’re going to continue to help families plan, save, and pay for college and career readiness and achieve financial goals. Now, some of these topics are things that we know are important, but some of them we got from you, suggestions, feedback, questions from students and families. So once again, if you have a topic that you want us to cover, as specific as, how do I answer the question on the CSS profile about how much your family is planning to contribute next year to something as [00:24:00] general as how do I become a pilot?

So I’ll ask you once again to call us at 800-449-6332 to email us at [email protected] to reach out to us on Facebook at @MEFAMA, on X, at @MEFATweets or on Instagram at @MEFA_MA, and to let us know what you want to know about. So Julie, thank you for being here and happy New Year.

Julie Shields Rutyna: Oh, happy New Year to you as well.

Jonathan Hughes: So just a reminder, folks, if you like the show and you want to. Hear more from us on planning, saving, and paying for college and career readiness and achieving financial goals while you can follow the show and you can do that wherever you find your podcasts.

And please remember to review us, helps us to keep doing what we’re doing in getting this show out. I’d like to thank our producer, Shaun Connolly. I’d like to thank Meredith Clement, Lisa [00:25:00] Rooney, Lauren Danz, Christina Davidson and AJ Yee for their assistance in posting the show. Once again, my name is Jonathan Hughes and this has been the MEFA Podcast. Thanks.