Mass. Treasury Offering $50 Per New Baby In College Savings Effort

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, October 16, 2018 (State House News Service) –  Starting Jan. 1, 2020, every child born or adopted as a Massachusetts resident will be eligible for a free $50 deposit into a college savings account, state officials announced Tuesday.

According to Treasurer Deborah Goldberg's office, the deposit will be made through the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority and financed by a Treasury fund she oversees, with support from private donors. One donor, Inversant founder Robert Hildreth, joined Goldberg at a press conference as he committed $300,000 to SeedMA Baby.

"Access to higher education is vital to the health of the Massachusetts economy," Goldberg said. "With the price of education increasing each year, we must ensure that individuals of every background and income level are equipped with the resources to finance their higher education and enter the workforce debt-free."

A three-year pilot to help families in Worcester and Monson save for college is in its final year, and Republican Keiko Orrall, who is running for treasurer, on Tuesday panned that program's progress and the salaries paid to its overseers by the Treasury.

"Everyone agrees it's important for families to save for college, but the Treasurer's attempts so far have been a waste of taxpayer money," Orrall said in a statement.