Keystone Scholars is Pennsylvania’s statewide Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program. It sets the expectation at birth for every child in Pennsylvania to pursue some form of post-high school education by providing a $100 automatic, at-birth investment for higher education savings to every child born or adopted by Pennsylvania residents on or after January 1, 2019. Money can be used between the ages of 18-29 for postsecondary expenses, including vocational and technical schools, qualified apprenticeships, 2–4-year college and graduate school programs.
Keystone Scholars has three primary goals:
- Help parents maintain high expectations for their child’s future education.
- Cultivate a future-focused identity in children.
- Prompt parents to start saving as early as possible to give funds the longest time to grow,
Research shows:
- Children with college savings in their name – even if that amount is modest – are three times more likely to pursue postsecondary education and four times more likely to graduate.
- CSAs have large positive effects on savings for college at age 12, with largest effects among disadvantaged children by race, income, and parent’s education.
- CSAs complement efforts to reduce inequality in early education, facilitate college completion, and improve post-college financial health.
- CSA effects extend beyond children, reducing maternal depression and increasing parental educational expectations for their children.
- Predicted household income and net worth are higher for adults who received parental financial support for college than for those receiving no such support.
Eligible families can claim and register their child’s account at pa529.com/keystone/ by entering:
- Child’s date of birth,
- State File Number from the child’s PA birth certificate, and
- Zip code on file when the child was born.
Once registered, families may open their own companion PA 529 account and link their Keystone Scholars account to contribute to their savings journey.