Mississippi’s future worth investment
Mississippi’s future is worth investing in and State Treasurer Lynn Fitch said the place to start is the investment in its young people.
On a swing through Southaven, Fitch met with more than 25 community leaders in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Southaven Chamber of Commerce at Community Bank in Southaven.
This fall, Fitch said her office would unveil the relaunch of the college tuition savings program MPACT and the 529 college savings plan known as MACS, or the Mississippi Affordable College Savings Plan.
The College Savings Board voted to defer enrollment in the MPACT program in late 2012, amid concerns that the program may not be sustainable due to its funding shortfalls.
An actuarial audit was ordered and conducted to help put the program on a sound financial path, according to Fitch.
MPACT currently faces a shortfall of $82 million. If the program were to be closed permanently, that shortfall would rise to $142 million.
So, Fitch said it makes sense to increase enrollment and investment.
“We made the determination the program could be reopened,” Fitch said. “The 21,000 contracts are very well protected.”
Desoto Times Tribune
4/1/14
Magnolia Tribune
