College Disrupted: Students Face High Costs and Pandemic Impact

August 30, 2020 — Sam H. Fawaz

Even in normal times, it can be challenging for families to cover college expenses without borrowing money and/or risking their own retirement security. For the 2019-2020 academic year, the cost of in-state tuition, fees, room, and board at a four-year public college averaged $21,950, and the total for a private college approached $50,000 (1).

Sadly, the college world is not immune from the health fears and financial pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. More students might choose schools that are less expensive and/or closer to home, take a year off, or forgo college altogether. The American Council on Education predicted a 15% decline in college enrollment nationwide for the next academic year (2).

With the financial futures of students and supportive parents at stake, it is more important than ever for families to make informed college decisions.

Reopening plans

As of August 5, 2020, about 29% of the nearly 3,000 institutions tracked by The Chronicle of Higher Education had announced plans for an online fall semester, 23.5% were planning to hold classes primarily or fully in person, 16% were proposing various hybrid models of in-person classes and remote learning, and the remainder were still undecided (3).

To reduce campus density and make room for social distancing in classrooms and residence halls, many colleges are inviting 40% to 60% of students back to campus (prioritizing freshman or seniors, certain majors, programs with clinical requirements, and students with unsafe home situations, for example) while expanding and improving remote teaching capabilities for students studying at home (4). Some colleges have backtracked on earlier plans to reopen due to a surge of the virus, and more could follow suit as events unfold (5).

A new landscape

Students who live on campus or attend classes in person are likely to find strict rules and restrictions regarding safety practices (physical distancing, face coverings, virus testing) and changes in many facets of campus life, including living situations, food options, class settings, social gatherings, and popular extracurricular programs such as arts and athletics.

Acknowledging that students are not getting the college experience they wanted and are now more price sensitive, many schools are freezing tuition, and others are offering discounts, increasing scholarships, or allowing students to defer payments (6). In anticipation of $23 billion in revenue losses, colleges nationwide have also had to lay off employees, reduce salaries, eliminate programs, and make other budget cuts (7-8).

In mid-March, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the outlook for higher education from stable to negative, citing reduced enrollment. Institutions with large endowments and/or strong cash flows are better positioned to withstand the crisis, but lost tuition poses a bigger threat to smaller colleges (9).

Shopping for schools

High school students who are involved in the planning and application process might be lucky to enter college after the worst of the health crisis is over. Still, more economic hardship means that cost could play a greater role in school selection.

Many students don’t pay published tuition prices, and financial aid packages differ from school to school. After identifying schools that might be a fit, families can use net price calculators to compare how generous different colleges might be, based on the household’s financial situation and the student’s academic profile.

Before choosing a school, students should understand how much they might have to borrow and what the monthly payment would be after college. It’s also important to take a hard look at earning potential when choosing an academic program. Those who plan to enter lower-paying fields may fare better if they keep costs down and borrowing to a minimum.

Seeking financial aid

To receive grants and/or loans, students must complete the Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and apply for aid according to the college’s instructions as early as possible. Higher-earning families should also fill out the FAFSA because they may qualify for more need-based aid than they might expect, and some schools may require a completed FAFSA for merit-based scholarships.

College students with parents who have lost a job or earned less income than normal this year due to COVID-19 may want to appeal for a revised aid package, if not for fall then for spring. The financial aid administrator may be able to reduce the loan component of a student’s aid package and/or increase the scholarship, grant, or work-study component.

Will college pay off?

The average college graduate earns $78,000 per year, compared with about $45,000 for the average worker with a high school diploma. The wages of workers without a college degree tend to fall more during recessions, and they are more likely to be unemployed, as seen during the pandemic (10).

A 2019 Federal Reserve analysis of the cost (four years of tuition and lost wages) and the benefits (higher lifetime earnings) concluded that a college degree is a sound investment for most people; the average rate of return for a bachelor’s degree is about 14% (11).

When Fed economists adjusted this analysis to account for the 2020 pandemic, the return on a college degree rose to 17% (under the assumption that many workers with a high school diploma would be unemployed for a year). For a student who takes a gap year, the estimated return dropped to 13%. The $90,000 cost of a delay includes one year’s worth of post-graduation earnings and slower growth in wages over a lifetime (12).

Remote learning may not be a perfect substitute for in-person interactions and relationships, especially for students enrolled at expensive institutions. Still, motivated students can grow intellectually and work toward a degree that could be valuable in terms of future earnings and social mobility.

Many colleges may be able to utilize their investments in technology and online curriculums long after the pandemic passes, providing future undergraduates with more opportunities to earn an affordable college degree remotely.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any college planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first.  If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

(1) College Board, 2019

(2)(7) American Council on Education, 2020

(3) The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2020

(4)(9) The New York Times, July 7, 2020, and May 12, 2020

(5) NPR.com, July 22, 2020

(6)(8) Inside Higher Ed, April 27, 2020, and June 29, 2020

(10)(11)(12) Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2019-2020

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IRS Clarifies COVID-19 Relief Measures for Retirement Savers

August 4, 2020 — Sam H. Fawaz

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March 2020 ushered in several measures designed to help IRA and retirement plan account holders cope with financial fallout from the virus. The rules were welcome relief to many people, but left questions about the details unanswered. In late June, the IRS released Notices 2020-50 and 2020-51, which shed light on these outstanding issues.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs)

One CARES Act measure suspends 2020 RMDs from defined contribution plans and IRAs. Account holders who prefer to forgo RMDs from their accounts, or to withdraw a lower amount than required, may do so. The waiver also applies to account holders who turned 70½ in 2019 and who would have had to take their first RMD by April 1, 2020, as well as beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts.

One of the questions left unanswered by the legislation was: “What if an account holder took an RMD in 2020 before passage of the CARES Act and missed the 60-day window to roll the money back into a qualified account?”

In April, IRS Notice 2020-23 extended the 60-day rollover rule for those who took a distribution on or after February 1, 2020, allowing participants to roll their money back into an eligible retirement account by July 15, 2020. This seemingly left account owners who had taken RMDs in January without recourse. However, IRS Notice 2020-51 rectified the situation by stating that all 2020 RMDs — even those received as early as January 1 — may be rolled back into a qualified account by August 31, 2020. Moreover, such a rollover would not be subject to the one-rollover-per-year rule.

This ability to undo a 2020 RMD also applies to beneficiaries who would otherwise be ineligible to conduct a rollover. (However, in their case, the money must be rolled back into the original account.)

This provision does not apply to defined benefit (pension) plans.

Coronavirus withdrawals and loans

Another measure in the CARES Act allows qualified IRA and retirement plan account holders affected by the virus to withdraw up to $100,000 of their vested balance without having to pay the 10% early-withdrawal penalty (25% for certain SIMPLE IRAs). They may choose to spread the income from these “coronavirus-related distributions,” or CRDs, ratably over a period of three years to help manage the associated income tax liability. They may also recontribute any portion of the distribution that would otherwise be eligible for a tax-free rollover to an eligible retirement plan over a three-year period, and the amounts repaid would be treated as a trustee-to-trustee transfer, avoiding tax consequences.1

In addition, the CARES Act included a provision stating that between March 27 and September 22, 2020, qualified coronavirus-affected retirement plan participants may also be able to borrow up to 100% of their vested account balance or $100,000, whichever is less. In addition, any qualified participant with an outstanding loan who has payments due between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2020, may be able to delay those payments by one year.

IRS Notice 2020-50

To be eligible for coronavirus-related provisions in the CARES Act, “qualified individuals” were originally defined as IRA owners and retirement plan participants who were diagnosed with the virus, those whose spouses or dependents were diagnosed with the illness, and account holders who experienced certain adverse financial consequences as a result of the pandemic. IRS Notice 2020-50 expanded that definition to also include an account holder, spouse, or household member who has experienced pandemic-related financial setbacks as a result of:

  • A quarantine, furlough, layoff, or reduced work hours
  • An inability to work due to lack of childcare
  • Owning a business forced to close or reduce hours
  • Reduced pay or self-employment income
  • A rescinded job offer or delayed start date for a job

These expanded eligibility provisions enhance the opportunities for account holders to take a CRD.

The Notice clarifies that qualified individuals can take multiple distributions totaling no more than $100,000 regardless of actual need. In other words, the total amount withdrawn does not need to match the amount of the adverse financial consequence. (Retirement investors should consider the pros and cons carefully before withdrawing money.)

It also states that individuals will report a coronavirus-related distribution (or distributions) on their federal income tax returns and on Form 8915-E, Qualified 2020 Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments. Individuals can also use this form to report any recontributed amounts. As noted above, individuals can choose to either spread the income ratably over three years or report it all in year one; however, once a decision is indicated on the initial tax filing, it cannot be changed. Note that if multiple CRDs occur in 2020, they must all be treated consistently — either ratably over three years or reported all at once.

Taxpayers who recontribute amounts after paying taxes on reported CRD income will have to file amended returns and Form 8915-E to recoup the payments. Taxpayers who elect to report income over three years and then recontribute amounts that exceed the amount required to be reported in any given year may “carry forward” the excess contributions — i.e., they may report the additional amounts on the next year’s tax return.

The Notice also clarifies that amounts can be recontributed at any point during the three-year period beginning the day after the day of a CRD. Amounts recontributed will not apply to the one-rollover-per-year rule.

Regarding plan loans, participants who delay their payments as permitted by the CARES Act should understand that once the delay period ends, their loan payments will be recalculated to include interest that accrued over the time frame and reamortized over a period up to one year longer than the original term of the loan.

Retirement plans are not required to adopt the loan and withdrawal provisions, so check with your plan administrator to see which options might apply to you. However, qualified individuals whose plans do not specifically adopt the CARES Act provisions may choose to categorize certain other types of distributions — including distributions that in any other year would be considered RMDs — as CRDs on their tax returns, provided the total amount does not exceed $100,000.

For more information, review IRS Notices 2020-50 and 2020-51, or talk to us.

1Qualified beneficiaries may also treat a distribution as a CRD; however, nonspousal beneficiaries are not permitted to recontribute funds, as they would not otherwise be eligible for a rollover.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first.  If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

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