With ‘Kinder Grads’ and $100, Oregon treasurer hopes to double number of college savings accounts

BEAVERTON – The 18 graduates of Ms. Womack’s kindergarten class at Beaverton’s Vose Elementary are preparing to become firefighters, soccer players, astronauts and doctors, they said.

Going on to college before all that, however, drew some shock and disbelief.

“Kindergarten has been hard enough,” one student lamented Thursday afternoon to Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner and Oregon Department of Education Director Charlene Williams, who were visiting the class to hand out diplomas, and to share a surprise.

When Steiner told them that her job was to give them $100 to put in their piggy banks for college, or any other type of school they might want to attend one day after high school, the class erupted.

Their diplomas include a QR code that their parents can use to open an Embark account, formerly known as the Oregon College Savings Plan. If they open an account and deposit $25, the state treasury will deposit $100 more. That goes for kindergarteners across the state under the Treasury’s new “Kinder Grad” program.

The accounts, which grow tax-free as the treasury invests the money, are also known traditionally as 529 Plans — named after the section of Internal Revenue Service code that applies to tuition savings. Families and individuals can deduct from their income taxes up to $380 worth of contributions they make to the accounts each year, and the money can be used for courses and supplies for apprenticeships and trade schools as well as colleges.

Cultivating excitement and momentum around receiving a financial leg up on the long journey to and through post-secondary education increases the likelihood teens and young adults choose to keep studying, and the likelihood they’ll finish their degree, certificate and training programs, Steiner told reporters at the school.

“The data show that just having an Embark account, or any kind of savings plan for post-high school education, increases your likelihood of pursuing post-secondary education by seven times,” she said. “It’s the idea that your family, that your community, believes in you. And then knowing that there’s money in there, because that sends a message that post-high school education is important.”

Historically, about one in eight Oregonians has taken advantage of the Treasury-backed education savings plans. Steiner, who was elected in 2024, aims to at least double that during her tenure.

She has been going statewide to raise awareness about the accounts, and said the Treasury is already seeing a significant year-over-year increase in the number of Oregonians opening them. The agency has put ads on Portland street cars, in digital media and are doing events at state and county fairs.

The $100 “Kinder Grad” incentive is for kindergarteners, Steiner said, but parents of kids of all ages are encouraged to open an account and start saving as soon as possible. They can start as early as birth, too. Parents of babies under 1 year old can also get a $100 deposit in a newly opened Embark account under the Treasury’s “Baby Grad” program.