Stretched to the limit – money for college tuition or a parent’s elder care

As people live longer and start families later, thousands of them are caring for children and elderly parents simultaneously. The competing demands from children and parents for time and resources are emotionally and financially draining. This situation has become all too familiar for many of the 77 million baby boomers and their younger Generation Boomer counterparts who find themselves "sandwiched" between caring for aging parents while still raising their own kids, to say nothing of working full time and saving for their own retirement.

Financial issues are at the heart of the elder care system, and adult children often find themselves faced with concerns about their parents' finances along with how they will fund their children’s college education. Aside from purchasing a home, paying for college for one’s children is probably the greatest single expense that parents encounter. Everyone dreams of getting a scholarship, academic or athletic, to help defray the cost of a college education, however the reality is that very few students actually secure a scholarship and if your child is one of the fortunate ones, the scholarship may only cover a small portion of the total cost.

A new employee benefit is gaining in popularity – College Tuition Rewards Program. This program allows you to accumulate for children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews at over 260 colleges throughout the country. This program is not a scholarship where you are competing against other prospective students and your child may not be selected. It is guaranteed money towards the cost of tuition at any of the participating colleges. This program is not a 529 plan or other similar college savings program rather it is a plan which affords you the opportunity to save for some of life’s other expenses and as an added bonus accumulate tuition rewards which can significantly reduce the cost of tuition at one of the participating colleges. This program can also be utilized by grandparents to accumulate tuition rewards for their grandchildren. It can be a way for grandparents to give their grandchildren a gift at no cost to them.

For more information on how the program works and what colleges participate, please click on the following link www.collegerewardsprogram.com or cheryl@benadvantage.com.