Promises Promises

Edit August 2008:  The information in this post may be out of date.  Click here to view the latest on Upromise’s policies: Time To Request A Withdrawal From My Upromise Account

If you have signed up at Upromise, you might like to know the following. You can get your money sent directly to you, and avoid putting it into a 529 Plan. The following is a quote of their faq’s:

Can I withdraw company contributions from my Upromise account without transferring them to a savings plan, and if so, how?

You can withdraw your Upromise contributions at any time during your membership. To withdraw company contributions from your Upromise account, submit a letter in writing to Upromise requesting a withdrawal from your Upromise account. The letter must state your full name and exact amount that you would like to withdraw, up to total amount available in your account, pending contributions are not eligible for withdrawal.

For the protection of our members, we require that your letter either be notarized or contain a Signature Guarantee if the withdrawal request is in excess of $200. A Signature Guarantee is a guarantee you can obtain from a financial institution, such as your bank, that your signature is yours and that it is genuine.

Withdrawal letters should be sent to:

Upromise
ATTN: Customer Care
P.O. Box 55555
Boston, MA 02205-5555

Checks are sent once per calendar quarter, so you should typically receive your check within 12 weeks of your request being received.

To make your savings work for you, you may want to consider transferring your company contributions to an investing plan for a future college student.

Personally, I think that taking your money out, and investing it in an ESA is a much better deal than any of the 529 plans that they offer. A week ago I sent them a letter requesting a withdrawal from our account. I received a confirmation email today and the withdrawal check should arrive at the end of this quater. I prefer the ESA to the 529.