Decision Center
All questions

How should I split savings between my children?

Splitting a monthly budget evenly is not the same as funding every child equally — money for a younger child has years longer to grow, and they do not all start from the same place. This works out the split that levels them up.

Your children

Two children minimum — the tool works by comparing them. Everything other than age and balance is shared between them.

  • Child 1
  • Child 2

Across all children combined, not per child.

What kind of college are you planning for?

Estimated current annual cost: $65,000. Based on 2025–26 national college cost estimates from College Board. The same figure is used for every child.

Nothing is calculated until you ask.

Nothing calculated yet

Fill in your situation above, then press Run the numbers to see your four paths.

Equal contributions do not produce equal funding

Splitting a monthly budget down the middle feels fair and is usually not. Money set aside for a younger child has more years to compound before it is needed, so an identical contribution produces a larger balance by the time that child reaches college. Two children funded equally per month end up funded unequally per student.

The gap is larger than most people expect, because it is compound rather than linear. A four-year age difference does not mean four years’ worth of extra contributions — it means four extra years of growth on everything contributed.

What the tool balances

It solves for the split that brings each child to a comparable position relative to their own projected cost, given their own horizon and their own starting balance. That usually means weighting contributions towards the older child, whose money has less time to work.

Whether equal funding is the goal is a family decision rather than a mathematical one. Some families deliberately fund children differently, and the tool will show the consequences of any split you choose rather than insisting on one.

One pot or several

A 529 has one designated beneficiary at a time, so families with several children typically hold an account each. Beneficiaries can generally be changed to another qualifying family member without federal tax, which gives some flexibility to move a surplus between siblings later — the definition of a qualifying family member is set out in IRS Publication 970 and is broader than most people assume.

Common questions

Should I open one 529 or one per child?

Each 529 account has a single designated beneficiary, so covering several children normally means several accounts. Plan rules and paperwork vary, so your plan administrator is the right source on the mechanics.

Can I move money from one child's 529 to another's?

Changing the beneficiary to a qualifying member of the beneficiary’s family is generally not a taxable event under Publication 970, and siblings fall inside that definition. Rollovers between accounts carry their own constraints, including a 60-day window and a limit of one rollover per beneficiary in any 12-month period.

My children are twins. Does the split still matter?

With identical horizons the growth argument disappears, and the split turns on starting balances and on whether you expect their education to cost the same. If both are equal, an even split is also the balancing one.

Same numbers, different question