PFPC is hoping to simplify 529 college savings plan distribution with a new aggregation service. The service will enable every providers to access aggregated 529 plan account information from each state.

PFPC currently provides account management, recordkeeping and tax reporting for 11 state-sponsored 529 college investing plans representing more than 500,000 investors in total.

The service is built as a subsystem component of PFPC's Global Enterprise Platform that is able to accept and send pertinent 529 plan account information to and from any entity on a daily basis.

For providers, the recordkeeping tool promises to automate the aggregation of the data they need to calculate whether account holders are within maximum contribution limits. They will also be able to performed complex earnings calculations on withdrawals from the plan, according to PFPC officials.

Providers can also pass the information on to accountholders to provide them a quick overview of their accounts.

PFPC said it designed the tool in response to the needs of states. Many of those states now offer multiple plans as a way to tap different distribution channels. However, those plans are often sold by multiple partners to investors from across the nation. As those programs have grown the different administrators and distributors are increasingly facing the task of sharing information across platforms.

The variety of distribution alliances and program manager collaboration makes it crucial for multiple providers to communicate and share secure data, according to PFPC. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE