Help the Future Faces of Maine have more opportunities with less debt.

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1 Invest in Help the Future Faces of Maine have more opportunities with less debt. Join Us! The Finance Authority of Maine (FA) is reaching out to employers around the state inviting them to Invest in. As an employer, when you invest in your workforce, you ll be investing in Maine s future! For Maine to succeed, we need all Mainers to aspire to, plan for, and be able to afford education after high school, and a NextGen 59 TM account can be a great start. A NextGen 59 account is a tax-advantaged way to help families invest and plan for higher education costs. And, children with college savings are seven times more likely to pursue higher education. What can you do as an Employer? Together we can invest in Maine by investing in Maine s residents: n Connect families to information about NextGen 59 and grants for Maine residents. 3 n Hang posters and share brochures. n Host a learning session. FA can come to talk about planning for college and help families open NextGen accounts. n Enable payroll deductions to NextGen accounts. How does FA Invest in? NextGen 59 offers generous matching grants for Maine residents, which can really help maximize your employees contributions. FA can share details during sessions or you can learn more at NextGenfor.com. Start Today! Share information with your employees and/or contact FA at for more information, materials or to schedule sessions. Beginning January, 08, limited withdrawals from a Section 59 account for tuition at elementary or secondary public, private or religious schools are also eligible for favorable federal tax treatment, although state tax treatment of such withdrawals may differ. Elliott & Beverly, 0; American Journal of Education. 3 Grants are linked to eligible Maine accounts. Upon withdrawal, grants are paid only to institutions of higher education. See Terms & Conditions of Maine Grant Programs for other conditions and restrictions that apply at NextGenfor.com. NextGen is a Section 59 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). Before you invest in NextGen, request a NextGen Program Description from your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or Maine Distribution Agent or call Merrill Edge at and read it carefully. The Program Description contains more complete information, including investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in NextGen, which you should carefully consider before investing. You also should consider whether your or your designated beneficiary s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state s 59 plan. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, is the program manager and underwriter.

2 Questions Employers May Have What is NextGen 59? NextGen 59 is Maine s Section 59 college savings plan. Section 59 refers to the section of the Internal Revenue Code that provides unique tax advantages and other special features to encourage families to invest for college. College savings plans, such as NextGen 59, are referred to as 59 plans. Funds you add to your NextGen 59 account are after-tax. Contributions are not deductible for federal or Maine state income tax purposes. Any investment earnings have the opportunity to grow free from federal (and possibly state) income tax. This means you do not have to pay any federal taxes on the money when it is withdrawn and used to pay for qualified higher education expenses¹. Who can benefit from a NextGen 59 account? NextGen 59 is for people of all ages: babies, kids, even adults. Who can open a NextGen 59 account? Anyone that resides in the United States age 8 or older with a valid social security number or U.S. taxpayer identification (ID) number can open a NextGen 59 account. There are no income restrictions. You can open an account for your child, grandchild or any loved one. You can also open an account to invest for your own higher education expenses. Family members and friends can open accounts for your child or contribute to one you ve opened. The account owner, also called the participant, is the person who retains control of the account. The designated beneficiary is the student on whose behalf the account has been opened. Can employees use payroll deduction to fund their NextGen 59 accounts? If so, how? Yes! A great way to plan for paying for education is to contribute automatically. Most employers can work within their existing payroll system. A NextGen 59 contribution from payroll is similar to a direct deposit to a bank account. Here s the process:. An employee must first own a NextGen 59 account.. The employee can choose to do payroll deduction, either during the account opening process or by completing and submitting a payroll deduction form. 3. Merrill Lynch will process the form and send the employee an instruction sheet to share with his/her payroll department. Can an employer make a contribution to an employee s NextGen 59 account? Yes! Here are some considerations: A contribution constitutes a benefit to the employee and may be subject to payroll taxes. A contributor, other than the account owner, to a NextGen 59 account does not receive confirmation of the contributions and will have no subsequent control over funds contributed. The employee must provide the NextGen 59 account number to the employer, to facilitate the employer sending the contributions to Merrill Lynch. Employers are advised to consult their tax and legal advisors about these considerations before deciding whether to undertake such contributions. To be eligible for favorable tax treatment afforded to any earnings portion of withdrawals from Section 59 accounts, such withdrawals must be used for qualified higher education expenses, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. For distributions beginning in 08, qualified higher education expenses also include tuition at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school. Any earnings withdrawn that are not used for such expenses are subject to federal income tax and may be subject to a 0% additional federal tax as well as state and local income taxes. State tax treatment of distributions for elementary and secondary school tuition may differ. Please consult your tax advisor for specific advice regarding such distributions. NextGen is a Section 59 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). Before you invest in NextGen, request a NextGen Program Description from your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or Maine Distribution Agent or call Merrill Edge at (877) and read it carefully. The Program Description contains more complete information, including investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in NextGen, which you should carefully consider before investing. You also should consider whether your or your designated beneficiary s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state s 59 plan. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, is the program manager and underwriter , TTY NextGen@FAmaine.com NextGenfor.com

3 Newsletter/ /Web Copy Please use the following copy without changes or deletions. If you have questions, please contact FA at Use to promote NextGen 59, generally, not in conjunction with an event. Headline/Subject Line: Invest in your family s higher education today with NextGen 59 See below for an important message sent on behalf of the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). NextGen 59 is Maine s education savings plan, which many families use to prepare for higher education. Opening a NextGen 59 account for your child (or yourself ) is a real investment in the future. Maine residents: take advantage of grants for higher education:. Open your account a) With $5 and get a $00 Initial Matching Grant; or b) Use the $500 Alfond Grant [if your beneficiary is eligible] to open an account without making an initial contribution. Add to your account Make contributions and get a 50% NextStep Matching Grant with up to $300 match per year. 3. Make it easy Set up automatic contributions from your payroll or bank account and get a $00 Automated Funding Grant. For more information and to learn how to open an account visit NextGenfor.com. Maine grants are linked to eligible Maine accounts. Upon withdrawal, grants are paid only to institutions of higher education. See Terms and Conditions of Maine Grant Programs for other conditions and restrictions that apply at NextGenfor.com. NextGen is a Section 59 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). Before you invest in NextGen, request a NextGen Program Description from your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or Maine Distribution Agent or call Merrill Edge at (877) and read it carefully. The Program Description contains more complete information, including investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in NextGen, which you should carefully consider before investing. You also should consider whether your or your designated beneficiary s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state s 59 plan. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered brokerdealer, member SIPC, is the program manager and underwriter , TTY NextGen@FAmaine.com NextGenfor.com

4 Open a NextGen account today Start planning for education expenses. Take advantage of grants for Maine residents. Open your account Invest in With $5 and get a $00 Initial Matching Grant. $00 Add to your account Make contributions and get a 50% NextStep Matching Grant up to a $300 match per year. $600 $300 Make it easy Grace, Manchester, Jenna, Augusta & Madeline, Manchester 3 = Set up automatic contributions from your payroll or bank account and get a $00 Automated Funding Grant. Grants are linked to eligible Maine accounts. Upon withdrawal, grants are paid only to institutions of higher education. See Terms & Conditions of Maine Grant Programs for other conditions and restrictions that apply at NextGenfor.com. Learn more at NextGenfor.com. NextGen is a Section 59 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). Before you invest in NextGen, request a NextGen Program Description from your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or Maine Distribution Agent or call Merrill Edge at and read it carefully. The Program Description contains more complete information, including investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in NextGen, which you should carefully consider before investing. You also should consider whether your or your designated beneficiary s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state s 59 plan. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, is the program manager and underwriter. ARWWGD5P 8-NXG-599 Update_Older_Student_Posters_05_OUT.indd 3 /5/8 0:40 AM

5 Open a NextGen account today Start planning for education expenses. Take advantage of grants for Maine residents. Open your account A) With $5 and get a $00 Initial Matching Grant OR B) Use the $500 Alfond Grant Invest in $ OR Harold Alfond COLLEGE CHALLENGE Add to your account Make contributions and get a 50% NextStep Matching Grant up to a $300 match per year. $600 $300 = 3 Make it easy Set up automatic contributions from your payroll or bank account and get a $00 Automated Funding Grant. Grants are linked to eligible Maine accounts. Upon withdrawal, grants are paid only to institutions of higher education. See Terms & Conditions of Maine Grant Programs for other conditions and restrictions that apply at NextGenfor.com. If the beneficiary is eligible for the Alfond Grant, no initial contribution is required. For more information, go to NextGenfor.com. Learn more at NextGenfor.com. Courtney & Addison, Gorham NextGen is a Section 59 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FA). Before you invest in NextGen, request a NextGen Program Description from your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or Maine Distribution Agent or call Merrill Edge at and read it carefully. The Program Description contains more complete information, including investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in NextGen, which you should carefully consider before investing. You also should consider whether your or your designated beneficiary s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state s 59 plan. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, is the program manager and underwriter. ARPKVQPX