Florida Prepaid college program successful over 35 years, with record refunds now available

Orlando, Florida — During National College Savings Month on September 16, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis visited Orlando to encourage Florida families to take advantage of the Florida Prepaid program, the affordable prepaid college plan, with record refunds now available due to Florida's college tuition not being raised in recent years.

Florida has returned nearly $1 billion in refunds to Florida families through Prepaid Florida, the largest and longest running prepaid program of its kind, with a 35-year track record of helping over 1.2 million Florida families save for college so that students can graduate from college and enter the workforce without burdensome loan debts. The Florida Prepaid college saving program allows Florida families to lock in future tuition costs at today’s prices. Because the program factors in what tuition may cost in the future, parents receive a refund if tuition stays lower than what is predicted.

In recent years, Florida has secured two rollbacks on Florida Prepaid Plan rates, one in 2020 and another earlier in 2024. These rollbacks have resulted in hundreds of thousands of families paying less, with their prepaid plan rates being reduced by a cumulative amount of $2.6 billion. More than 40,000 families still need to collect their 2024 refund, with over $130 million in unclaimed refunds. To find out if you have an unclaimed refund, please login to your Florida Prepaid account.

Learn more at www.savingforcollege.com/529-plans/florida/florida-prepaid.

“Because of our focus on academic achievement and fiscal responsibility, Florida has both the number one ranked higher education system and the lowest tuition in the country,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Florida is setting an example for the rest of the nation for ensuring that students can access higher education without taking on high amounts of debt,” said Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr.

“There is a national narrative that higher education is extremely costly and not worth it. As the number one state for higher education for eight years in a row, Florida universities are a great return on investment. Florida has held tuition and fees flat and continues to prioritize textbook affordability,” said Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida.