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Smart Choice College Savings Account
Money Movement and Account Information
Funding & Withdrawing From Your College Savings Account
See how to fund and withdraw from your College Savings Account by branch or online (using a PNC checking account).
There are some money movement limitations on your College Savings Account.
See below for information on how to fund and withdraw from your College Savings Account.
Funding
- Deposit cash or check(s)
- Internal transfer of funds from a PNC Checking or Savings to the College Savings Account
Withdrawing
- Withdraw cash or request a cashier’s check
- Internal transfer of funds from the College Savings Account to a PNC Checking or Savings account
A PNC checking account must be used to move money to or from PNC online.
You can then easily perform internal transfers with a PNC checking account to fund or withdraw from the College Savings Account. Here are examples of how it works:
Funding
- Internal Transfers – you can move money from your PNC checking account to your College Savings Account in Online Banking.
- External Funding – funds coming from another financial institution will need to be received into your PNC checking account. When the funds are available in your PNC checking account, you can transfer the funds to your College Savings Account through Online Banking.
- Incoming Wires – you will need to receive wires into your PNC checking account. When the funds are available in your PNC checking account, you can transfer these funds to your College Savings Account through Online Banking. Fees may apply.
Withdrawing
- Internal Transfers – you can move money from your College Savings Account to your PNC checking account in Online Banking.
- External transfers initiated at PNC to a third party or another financial institution must be made from your PNC checking account. After you have made an internal transfer from your College Savings Account to your PNC checking account, you can make a distribution in Online Banking through an External Transfer or Bill Pay.
- External transfers initiated by a third party must be made directly from your PNC checking account. Funds will first need to be transferred from your College Savings Account to your PNC checking account prior to a third party attempting to electronically withdraw funds from your PNC checking account.
- Outgoing Wire Transfers – can be sent from your PNC checking account. Funds will need to be transferred from your College Savings Account to your PNC checking account first. Fees may apply.
The following transaction types cannot be made directly to or from the College Savings Account:
Funding
- Direct Deposit
- Mobile Check
- ATM Deposit
- External funding, such as credits/deposits from an account at another financial institution directly into your College Savings Account, is not supported.
Withdrawing
- External electronic transfers
- Wires
Checking Account for Online Money Movement
Any PNC checking account can be used for online transfers.
Additionally, we are offering all College Savings Account customers a PNC Simple Checking account, and refunding monthly service charges, paper statement and wire transfer fees.
Important: You’ll get these fees refunded as long you own both accounts, and the PNC Simple Checking account doesn’t include anyone else as an owner. These refunds only apply to a PNC Simple Checking – all other checking accounts will follow their terms and fee structures.
Viewing Account Information
- View your account balance and the interest rate
- Transaction History and Online Statements are not available at this time
- Paper Statements are mailed monthly to the address associated with your account(s) on file, and include:
- Transaction History
- Account Balance
- APYE Information
At this time, your College Savings Account will not be accessible in the PNC Mobile app, but you can view your College Savings Account account through your mobile device in Online Banking.
Classifying Your 529 Plan Contributions and Distributions
It’s important to appropriately classify your contributions and distributions because different types can affect your taxes.
Contribution type: impacts gift tax limits and potential state tax deductions.
Distribution type: who receives the funds determines the Form 1099 Q recipient, and whether the withdrawal is qualified determines if taxes or penalties apply to earnings and if prior state tax benefits may be recaptured.
Regular Contribution (most common)
- Making a new deposit into your College Savings Account
Recontribution
- Contributing refunded expenses that you are depositing back into your College Savings Account within 60 days of withdrawing the funds
Rollover Contribution
- Contributing funds from a different College Savings Account into this account
Qualified withdrawal to the account owner: Used for qualified expenses for the beneficiary
Qualified withdrawal to the beneficiary: The beneficiary will use it for qualified expenses
Withdrawal for K-12 tuition expenses to the account owner: May not be considered qualified in some states
Withdrawal to make a payment on student loans: May not be considered qualified in some states
Non-qualified withdrawal to the account owner: Used for non-qualified expenses for the beneficiary
Non-qualified withdrawal to the beneficiary: The beneficiary will use it for non-qualified expenses
Rollover: Investing this distribution into another qualified 529 plan within 60 days
It’s important to know that tax advantages and qualified distribution rules vary by state. For more information about qualified or non-qualified distributions, contributions or any limitations, please speak to a tax advisor.
If you classified something incorrectly, contact our Operations team at 1-888-762-4727 to have a classification corrected.
Combining Multiple College Savings Accounts with the Same Beneficiary
If you have multiple College Savings Accounts with the same beneficiary, you can combine accounts.
However, this will represent an investment change within your account and limitations can apply. Contact our Operations team at 1-888-762-4727 to understand eligibility and start the process.