Florida Families to Get $1.3 Billion in College Plan Refunds & Reductions

Florida Prepaid’s Open Enrollment season, which ends April 30, marks the 35th anniversary of the program, making it one of the longest-running and most successful in the country. To celebrate its success, and thanks to consecutive years of lower-than-anticipated college tuition and fee rates, Florida Prepaid is doing a significant rollback in pricing.  

Prepaid Plan prices are now the lowest in 10 years, starting at just $34/month for a 1-Year University Plan for a newborn.  The Price reductions are primarily due to successive years of lower than anticipated tuition and fee increases for Florida colleges and state universities.

Keep reading for details. And if you’re in college prep mode, check out our parent’s guide to ways to earn college credit.

Florida Prepaid College Plan Image from Florida Prepaid College Plan

The popular 4-Year University Plan now starts at less than $135/month, and the 2-Year College Plan is just $39/month.

In addition, current customers with plans purchased since 2008 that have not yet started utilizing benefits, will also have a lower plan price. More than 280,000 existing customers will have plan prices lowered by more than $1.3 billion.  Nearly half of these customers now have their plan paid in full and will receive refunds totaling more than $350 million. The average refund per customer is $2,600.

“Every day we strive to support Florida families by making college savings simple and affordable,” said Board Chairman John D. Rood. “This price reduction reflects our commitment to that goal.  We thank Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for their continued efforts to make a college education attainable for Florida students during these past few years of economic uncertainty and heightened inflation.” 

Board Chairman John D. Rood

Prepaid Plans provide a simple, affordable way to save for college tuition and fees and/or dormitory housing and allow families to lock in their plan price and make fixed monthly payments. 

Florida Prepaid College Plan Image from Florida Prepaid College Plan

Families can use the Prepaid Plan online pricing tool to determine what the various plans cost based on a child’s age, as well as explore the different payment options available. 

If a child attends an out-of-state college or private college, a Prepaid Plan will pay the same amount as it would pay at a public college or university in Florida. Every Prepaid Plan is protected by the State of Florida, and a child has up to 10 years after high school graduation to use a plan.

“Florida families have been squeezed by housing and food costs over the past few years, and we are glad to be able to ease their budget concerns by providing even more affordable plan prices.  Florida Prepaid is the largest and longest-running prepaid program in the nation, and we hope that with the reduced prices even more Florida families can start saving for their children’s future,” said Executive Director Kevin Thompson. “For 35 years, we have stayed true to the mission of our founder, Mr. Stanley G. Tate, to provide Florida families with an affordable means to save for their children’s higher education.”

Executive Director Kevin Thompson

Eligible account owners will receive a notification from the Board regarding their refund and/or payment reduction. For more information about how your plan will be affected, go to myfloridaprepaid.com/lowprices.        

To get started saving for college today, visit myfloridaprepaid.com.  Open Enrollment ends April 30, 2024. 

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Meghan Roth