Paid too much for prepaid 529

[KimQ]

We started a 529 Prepaid account for our children in 2010 and have been paying monthly installments ever since. When we went to use it for our daughter this year, we found out that we paid $3000 more per semester than what her tuition actually costs. Has this happened to anyone else? That seems crazy! We thought that we were locking in the tuition rate for 2010. What was the point of prepaying? We feel ripped off.

[Mark_Kantrowitz_SFC]

That seems odd. Which prepaid tuition plan did you use?

One state has had a tuition freeze in place for a long time. So, in that state, it might be possible for contributions to exceed the cost of tuition.

I'd suggest first contacting the prepaid tuition plan to ask about this. Ask them to refund the excess of contributions over tuition.

One option would be to rollover the funds to a 529 college savings plan or get a refund, since most refund policies will return at least the amount you paid.