On September 17, 2008, $140 billion was drawn out of money market accounts by investors who were transferring their funds to U.S. Treasuries. And on September 18, 2008, the FDIC, realizing that money market accounts were being drawn down in record amounts, pumped over $100 billion into the system.

But after realizing that an influx of cash wouldn’t be enough to prevent a collapse, the Treasury stepped in with a $250,000 guarantee per money market account. If the Treasury hadn’t taken this action, $5.5 trillion could have been drawn out of the market, which could have collapsed the entire U.S. economy.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of money market accounts in Advisor’s Journal, see How to Increase the FDIC $250,000 Permanent Guarantee (CC 10-67).

For in-depth analysis of the Dodd-Frank Act, see Advisor’s Main Library: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: An Analysis.

This month, the Congressional Research Service released an overview of qualified tuitions programs, giving us an opportunity to revisit the tax-advantaged nature of these accounts for higher education.

The primary advantage of qualified tuition programs—typically referred to as 529 plans—is the tax savings they provide. Although there is no federal income tax deduction for contributions to a 529 plan, accounts appreciate federal income tax free and distributions can be taken tax free to pay qualified higher education expenses (QHEE). In addition to federal tax benefits, a partial to full state income tax deduction for plan contributions is offered by twenty-six states. But because 529 plan accounts are intended to be used to pay higher education expenses, distributions of account appreciation that are not used to pay QHEE are subject to a penalty that varies from state to state.

For an analysis of Pre-Paid Tuition Plans, College Savings Plans, pointing out your role as the trusted advisor, see our article in AdvisorFX Advisor’s Journal.

For in-depth analysis of the topic of education savings accounts, see Advisor’s Main Library Section 50.1 Planning For Education Costs

From a tax perspective see Tax Facts Q 810. What is an Education Savings Account?