Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger Balancing Retirement With Tuition
7 snips
Mar 23, 2026 Parents balancing late-in-life adoption, high school tuition, and retirement funding. Discussion of 529 account tradeoffs versus boosting retirement contributions. Review of pension, Social Security, cashflow, and mortgage impact. Practical steps on using loans, pausing 529 contributions, and completing estate and guardianship paperwork.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Late Adoption Creates Sandwich Cashflow Crunch
- Mark and his spouse adopted children late and now face high school and upcoming college costs while near retirement.
- They pay about $20,000/year per child for Catholic high school and have sizable 529 balances of $84k and $91k.
Redirect 529 Contributions To Retirement
- Divert ongoing 529 contributions into retirement when you're near retirement age and funding is substantial.
- Jill recommends moving the $400/month currently going to 529s into retirement to improve long-term security given Mark's late adoption and pension.
Pension Plus Social Security Changes The Tradeoff
- A steady pension plus Social Security narrows the retirement funding gap and makes prioritizing retirement over more college savings reasonable.
- Mark expects a $3,700/month pension at 62 and projected $3,900/month Social Security at 67, which materially reduces required savings.