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The 2027 FAFSA Preview: Why Planning Starts Today · Money In Motion with Klaas Financial

0:00
Speaker 1: Phone lines are open to you right now.
0:01
Speaker 2: If you have questions for our retirement planning professionals from
0:04
Speaker 2: Kloss Financial, telephone number to get on the air, 608-321-1310.
0:09
Speaker 2: That's 608-321-1310. Great opportunity to have you join us this morning.
0:15
Speaker 2: Love to talk with you again. Telephone number to get
0:18
Speaker 2: on the air, 608-321-1310. We've got Eric Schwartz and Nate
0:22
Speaker 2: Bribie with us this morning from Kloss Financial. Don't forget,
0:25
Speaker 2: you can learn more about Kloss Financial all on their website, klossfinancial.com.
0:30
Speaker 2: That's kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. Great website and resource to learn
0:35
Speaker 2: all about Kloss Financial. They're separate divisions. Also, while you're there,
0:39
Speaker 2: you can learn about the team. They can get to
0:42
Speaker 2: know each of them. You can also learn, I mentioned
0:44
Speaker 2: the separate divisions there. It also shows different ways they
0:48
Speaker 2: can help you as an individual. They've got some options there. Also,
0:51
Speaker 2: if you are a business owner or a business leader,
0:53
Speaker 2: ways they can help you in that department. Also, again,
0:56
Speaker 2: that information all available to you at klossfinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. Also,
1:03
Speaker 2: while you're on that website, don't forget we podcast the
1:06
Speaker 2: show each and every week. The best way to reach
1:11
Speaker 2: Kloss Financial or listen back to the podcast is at
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Speaker 2: that website, klossfinancial.com. You can subscribe to the website. From
1:19
Speaker 2: the website to the podcast, KlausFinancial.com. That's Klaus, K-L-A-A-S, Financial.com.
1:24
Speaker 2: As mentioned, joined this morning by Nate Bribey and Eric Schwartz.
1:27
Speaker 2: You may hear me tiptoeing a little bit. I'm having
1:29
Speaker 2: just some minor connection issues, and we'll get through that.
1:32
Speaker 2: But we do have Nate with us. Nate, how are
1:35
Speaker 2: you doing, my friend?
1:36
Speaker 3: Good morning, Sean. Coming up on the best time of
1:38
Speaker 3: the year in fall, so I'm excited.
1:40
Speaker 1: Oh, excellent, excellent. Are you a sports guy?
1:42
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, I'm a big Packer fan, so fall means
1:45
Speaker 3: football for me.
1:46
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, we've got the Packer game. Tomorrow night right
1:49
Speaker 2: here on 1310 WIBA as well. We'll get to Eric
1:52
Speaker 2: in just a moment. As mentioned, we've got a fantastic
1:55
Speaker 2: show ahead. We're going to be talking about. Um, the, uh, the,
1:59
Speaker 2: what is it? Uh, the, uh, student at FISA. Can
2:02
Speaker 2: you pronounce that for me, Nate?
2:03
Speaker 1: Because FASFA. FASFA.
2:05
Speaker 2: I hear it and I've never actually said it before.
2:07
Speaker 1: So we're going to talk about.
2:08
Speaker 3: So many acronyms.
2:09
Speaker 1: Yes, there are.
2:10
Speaker 2: We're going to get a 2027 preview of FASFA, uh, and, uh,
2:14
Speaker 2: why you should be start planning today. We'll do that
2:17
Speaker 2: in just a moment. Don't forget, if you've got a question,
2:19
Speaker 2: we've got a phone line open for you at 608-321-1310.
2:21
Speaker 2: That's 608-321-1310. 3, 2, 1, 13, 10.
2:25
Speaker 1: Looks like we've got Eric. Eric, are you able to
2:27
Speaker 1: hear us okay?
2:28
Speaker 4: I am here, Sean.
2:30
Speaker 1: I made it on.
2:31
Speaker 3: Woo-hoo!
2:32
Speaker 2: Great to have you along. And we've got a great
2:34
Speaker 2: conversation ahead about how the prior year tax rule affects
2:41
Speaker 2: your financial aid and how families can prepare before October 1st.
2:45
Speaker 2: Before we get rolling on that topic, though, let's actually
2:47
Speaker 2: look back at last week's show. One of the great
2:49
Speaker 2: features of the program is the Klaus Quiz Question of
2:51
Speaker 2: the Week. your chance to win a fantastic prize from
2:53
Speaker 2: our friends at Kloss Financial.
2:55
Speaker 1: This week, no exception. They provided a $ 25 gift card
2:58
Speaker 1: to Texas Roadhouse.
2:59
Speaker 2: Little tip, listen closely to the program because it's about
3:02
Speaker 2: every show, the question and answer to the Kloss Quiz
3:04
Speaker 2: question week comes up during the program. And before we
3:06
Speaker 2: start on this week's show, Eric, let's actually look back
3:09
Speaker 2: at last week's program and get the question and answer
3:12
Speaker 2: there as well.
3:14
Speaker 1: Absolutely.
3:14
Speaker 4: So last week, CJ and I did a show on
3:17
Speaker 4: the importance of the character of your financial professional and
3:22
Speaker 4: sort of the limitations of regulation to really weed out
3:26
Speaker 4: those bad actors. So our question was true or false.
3:30
Speaker 4: Regulation is designed to screen out all of the bad
3:32
Speaker 4: actors and eliminate risk for investors. And the answer to
3:37
Speaker 4: that is false. Regulation can go a long way, but
3:41
Speaker 4: it is not designed to screen out all of those
3:44
Speaker 4: bad actors. And that is why it's so important to
3:46
Speaker 4: understand And to understand where your financial advisor is coming from,
3:53
Speaker 4: what their incentives are, and to make sure you really
3:56
Speaker 4: build a relationship with someone you trust.
3:58
Speaker 2: And it was a really just a fantastic show. And
4:00
Speaker 2: that is one, too, that speaking of people you trust
4:04
Speaker 2: and those type of things, you've got people in your
4:05
Speaker 2: life as well. Share that information with them. Share that
4:08
Speaker 2: podcast as well. It was a really, really informative show.
4:11
Speaker 2: Really important information in last week's program. Of course, you
4:14
Speaker 2: can listen back to this and previous shows, podcasts, that
4:16
Speaker 2: show as well. at KlossFinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S-Financial.com. As mentioned,
4:22
Speaker 2: we're going to be talking about the, I'm not even
4:24
Speaker 2: going to try it, that acronym. Nate, let's start with
4:28
Speaker 2: the basics and what kind of information it asks for.
4:31
Speaker 2: And hopefully by the end of the program, I'll have
4:32
Speaker 2: this down.
4:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're going to say it a few times, Sean.
4:36
Speaker 1: So it's FASFA.
4:37
Speaker 4: FASFA.
4:38
Speaker 3: FASFA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
4:42
Speaker 3: It's the primary application families use to be considered for
4:46
Speaker 3: federal student aid. And many states and colleges also use
4:49
Speaker 3: this information when awarding their own assistance.
4:53
Speaker 4: So here we go.
4:53
Speaker 3: So for the 27 and 28 school year, so this
4:56
Speaker 3: would be next fall, right? The FAFSA will be available
5:00
Speaker 3: to everyone by October 1st of this year, 2026, right?
5:05
Speaker 3: Now here's what we're getting at. Families will generally use
5:08
Speaker 3: financial information from their 2025 tax return. So you can
5:12
Speaker 3: see where Sean's talking about the prior prior year. Students
5:16
Speaker 3: next fall will be using information that's already on the
5:18
Speaker 3: books from 2025. And that's what Eric and I are
5:21
Speaker 3: going to talk a lot about today, how to plan
5:23
Speaker 3: around that.
5:24
Speaker 1: So back to the FAFSA.
5:26
Speaker 3: This form asks for information about both the student and
5:29
Speaker 3: in many cases, the parents. That includes items such as income,
5:34
Speaker 3: your AGI and other information on your tax return, certain assets,
5:38
Speaker 3: household size, and the colleges the student is considering. Now
5:43
Speaker 3: families are going to complete this form at studentaid.gov. The
5:47
Speaker 3: student and the parent will need their own studentaid.gov login, basically,
5:53
Speaker 3: to be able to sign and fill out their portion
5:55
Speaker 3: of the application. Now many families assume the FAFSA is
5:59
Speaker 3: only for low-income households, but that's really not the case.
6:02
Speaker 3: The FAFSA is used to apply for federal grants, work-study funds,
6:08
Speaker 3: and federal student loans. So states and colleges may also
6:11
Speaker 3: use the FAFSA when determining eligibility for their own grants
6:14
Speaker 3: and scholarships again. In fact, even families who don't qualify
6:18
Speaker 3: for needs-based aid often complete the FAFSA because it unlocks
6:23
Speaker 3: access to direct federal student loans for the students. So
6:27
Speaker 3: even if you don't think your income may be too high,
6:29
Speaker 3: or excuse me, so even if you think your income
6:31
Speaker 3: is too high to qualify for aid, it's worth filing
6:34
Speaker 3: because you don't want to leave potential opportunities on the table.
6:38
Speaker 2: Really important distinction and information right there from Nate Bribey
6:41
Speaker 2: and Eric Schwartz. They are all retirement planning professionals from
6:44
Speaker 2: Kloss Financial online, klossfinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. Great day
6:50
Speaker 2: to make an appointment at Kloss Financial. Their telephone number, 608-442-5637.
6:55
Speaker 2: Don't forget that initial get-to-know-you appointment at Kloss Financial. It
6:58
Speaker 2: will be complimentary to you. Again, their number, 608-442-5637.
7:01
Speaker 3: 442-5637.
7:02
Speaker 2: You can also schedule that complimentary conversation right online, klossfinancial.com.
7:08
Speaker 2: That's kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. So Eric, Nate mentioned that the
7:12
Speaker 2: FAFSA for 2027-2028 school year will generally use information, and
7:18
Speaker 2: this is the part that's also tripping me up, will
7:22
Speaker 2: use information from a family's 2025 tax return. Why is that,
7:27
Speaker 2: and why the prior year rule, what that exactly means here?
7:31
Speaker 1: For families. Yeah, that's a great question.
7:34
Speaker 4: And I mean, you'd have to ask the lawmakers who
7:36
Speaker 4: put it in place to know exactly why it was
7:39
Speaker 4: done that way. My assumption is just as we're planning
7:42
Speaker 4: for the 27-28 school year, information from the tax return
7:48
Speaker 4: is generally not available yet. But really the concept here
7:51
Speaker 4: that parents need to understand is that FAFSA is generally
7:54
Speaker 4: going to look back two tax years. So for that
7:58
Speaker 4: 27-28 academic year, that means that families will generally report
8:01
Speaker 4: that 2025 tax information. And the reason that this matters
8:05
Speaker 4: is that a lot of parents think that they can
8:07
Speaker 4: just wait until their child is applying to college to
8:10
Speaker 4: actually start planning. But in reality, by the time the
8:12
Speaker 4: FAFSA opens in the fall of 26, the income that
8:15
Speaker 4: you're going to be using for the application has already
8:18
Speaker 4: been reported and you can't change it. So that's why
8:21
Speaker 4: we're encouraging families to really think ahead here. Major financial decisions,
8:26
Speaker 4: such as realizing large capital gains, maybe doing a large
8:29
Speaker 4: Roth conversion, exercising stock options, or even taking a large
8:34
Speaker 4: retirement account withdrawal. All of these things can potentially impact
8:39
Speaker 4: the income that's reported on the FAFSA. So the planning
8:42
Speaker 4: opportunities are often going to occur well before you ever
8:45
Speaker 4: fill out that application and get it submitted.
8:47
Speaker 1: Interesting.
8:48
Speaker 2: As we talked this morning with Eric Schwartz and Nate Bribie,
8:50
Speaker 2: of course, they come to us. They are retirement planning
8:52
Speaker 2: professionals from Kloss Financial, the website, klossfinancial.com.
8:56
Speaker 1: That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com.
8:59
Speaker 2: Not only can you learn more about Kloss Financial, you
9:01
Speaker 2: can listen back to this and previous shows podcast. You
9:04
Speaker 2: can also schedule a complimentary conversation right online, klossfinancial.com. That's Klaas, K-L-A-A-S, financial.com.
9:11
Speaker 2: Their telephone number is 608-442-5637. Of course, you can give
9:15
Speaker 2: them a call and schedule that complimentary conversation that way
9:18
Speaker 2: as well.
9:19
Speaker 3: 608-442-5637.
9:19
Speaker 2: We'll continue our conversation with Nate and Eric. We will
9:24
Speaker 2: do that next as Money in Motion with Kloss Financial
9:27
Speaker 2: continues right here on 1310 WIBA. Talking with our retirement
9:31
Speaker 2: planning professionals joined this morning by Eric Schwartz and Nate Bribie.
9:35
Speaker 2: You can learn all about Kloss Financial on their website, klossfinancial.com.
9:39
Speaker 2: That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com.
9:42
Speaker 1: Great website and resource. Not only can you listen back.
9:44
Speaker 2: To this and previous shows, podcasts, You can also schedule
9:47
Speaker 2: that complimentary conversation right from the website, klossfinancial.com. If you prefer,
9:51
Speaker 2: you can always call the office, make that appointment right
9:54
Speaker 2: over the phone, 608-442-5637. That first appointment will be complimentary
9:59
Speaker 2: to you. It's not going to cost you a thing.
10:01
Speaker 2: Telephone number 608-442-5637. Talking this week about the 2027 FAFSA preview.
10:08
Speaker 1: We're getting a preview on it.
10:08
Speaker 2: Why planning starts today and how the prior prior year rule,
10:12
Speaker 2: a tax rule affects financial aid and how families can
10:15
Speaker 2: prepare for as we look towards October 1st on this.
10:18
Speaker 2: And Nate, what are some of the biggest financial decisions
10:22
Speaker 2: family make that, and you'd want to be careful with
10:24
Speaker 2: this one here, that could unintentionally affect their financial aid eligibility?
10:30
Speaker 4: Yep, absolutely.
10:31
Speaker 3: And we always joke that when filling out the FAFSA,
10:33
Speaker 3: this is the one time where you want your family
10:35
Speaker 3: to look as poor as possible, right? It's like, I
10:37
Speaker 3: don't have any income. I don't have any assets. Please
10:39
Speaker 3: give us needs-based aid, right? But And we have some
10:42
Speaker 3: parents take this to the extreme and joke like, well,
10:44
Speaker 3: I'll just quit my job. Right. So I have no income. Like, obviously,
10:47
Speaker 3: don't take it that far. But, you know, there are
10:49
Speaker 3: a lot of financial decisions that can definitely affect affect
10:53
Speaker 3: the form. So it's important for families to understand that
10:56
Speaker 3: financial aid should be one factor in the decision making process,
10:59
Speaker 3: not the only factor. So, like Eric said, you know,
11:02
Speaker 3: it still may make sense to do like a Roth
11:03
Speaker 3: conversion decision. It could still make sense to realize some
11:08
Speaker 3: long-term capital gains, to exercise some stock options and whatnot,
11:12
Speaker 3: because those are long-term financial planning strategies that your advisor
11:17
Speaker 3: may recommend. So once again, it helps us maybe from
11:20
Speaker 3: a tax planning perspective, but may hurt us for financial aid.
11:24
Speaker 3: So we have to juggle both of those balls as
11:27
Speaker 3: well when we're considering this. We also want to remind parents,
11:30
Speaker 3: and this is so key, that their own retirement goals
11:33
Speaker 3: should generally come first. So there may be borrowing options
11:37
Speaker 3: available for college, but there are no scholarships, grants, or
11:41
Speaker 3: loans available to fund your retirement years. And that's so
11:43
Speaker 3: easy to say, but so hard to do. We don't
11:46
Speaker 3: want to see families sacrifice their long-term financial security simply
11:50
Speaker 3: to improve a financial aid calculation, i.e. quitting your job.
11:55
Speaker 3: What we encourage family to do is understand the trade-offs
11:57
Speaker 3: before making those decisions. Too often, parents don't realize there's
12:01
Speaker 3: a connection between tax planning and college planning until after
12:04
Speaker 3: the fact. The good news is that when you know
12:07
Speaker 3: which tax years are going to be used for the FAFSA,
12:09
Speaker 3: you have the opportunity to be proactive. You can look ahead,
12:13
Speaker 3: coordinate with your tax professional and financial advisor, and make
12:16
Speaker 3: sure you're making informed decisions that will support both your
12:19
Speaker 3: college funding goals and your long-term retirement planning.
12:23
Speaker 2: And Eric, you know, we've spent some time talking about income,
12:26
Speaker 2: but what about assets? Are all assets treated the same
12:30
Speaker 2: with FAFSA or... Are some assets that families may be
12:34
Speaker 2: even surprised that they're treated the same way?
12:39
Speaker 4: It's a really, really good question, Sean, because there's a
12:42
Speaker 4: lot of confusion around this. And the short answer is
12:45
Speaker 4: the FAFSA looks at both income and certain assets that
12:48
Speaker 4: you have. But the more confusing part is that not
12:51
Speaker 4: everything is treated the same way. So one of the
12:53
Speaker 4: big surprises for parents that we see is that retirement
12:57
Speaker 4: accounts such as a 401k or an IRA, they are
13:01
Speaker 4: generally not reported as assets or as FAFSA assets. So
13:06
Speaker 4: they don't count against you. However, if you do take
13:09
Speaker 4: withdrawals from those accounts, that can still increase your income, right?
13:13
Speaker 4: So that would impact your financial aid calculation in future years.
13:18
Speaker 4: On the other hand, assets like cash in the bank,
13:21
Speaker 4: brokerage accounts, certain college savings accounts, those are all included
13:26
Speaker 4: in the calculation. So those will say they do count
13:28
Speaker 4: against you. But where assets are held can also matter.
13:32
Speaker 4: So for example, if you have dollars held in a
13:35
Speaker 4: custodial account, such as an UTMA, these are less common now,
13:39
Speaker 4: but they were basically accounts, well, they still exist, but
13:43
Speaker 4: just less common accounts that parents or grandparents or guardians
13:48
Speaker 4: set up to hold assets on behalf of a minor.
13:52
Speaker 4: These are considered a student asset. And student assets are
13:56
Speaker 4: assessed more heavily against you than parent assets when you're
14:00
Speaker 4: looking at the aid formula. Another area that's often misunderstood
14:05
Speaker 4: in this space is going to be 529 plans. So
14:08
Speaker 4: these are probably one of the more popular college savings
14:11
Speaker 4: plans today. A 529 that's owned by a parent is
14:15
Speaker 4: generally reported as a parent asset. while a grandparent-owned 529
14:21
Speaker 4: plan typically is not included as an asset on the FAFSA.
14:26
Speaker 4: So that can be a really important distinction for families
14:28
Speaker 4: that have been saving for college across multiple generations, and
14:33
Speaker 4: it's a very good planning tool. The other piece here
14:38
Speaker 4: is parents are also often surprised to learn that FAFSA
14:42
Speaker 4: generally does not consider any sort of equity in their
14:46
Speaker 4: primary residence, okay? Now, if we think about this and
14:49
Speaker 4: we also think about the fact that like retirement accounts
14:52
Speaker 4: are not included, you can sort of see a theme here, right?
14:56
Speaker 4: Assets that are difficult to access, such as the equity
15:00
Speaker 4: in your home or retirement account, you may not be
15:02
Speaker 4: old enough. They generally are not going to count against
15:07
Speaker 4: you in the aid formula. Now, the treatment of farms
15:11
Speaker 4: and like closely held businesses, this has changed in recent
15:13
Speaker 4: years and it really can depend on the specific facts
15:16
Speaker 4: and the year that we're looking at. But families who
15:20
Speaker 4: own a farm or business should review the current instructions really,
15:23
Speaker 4: really carefully because, like I said, they have changed. And
15:27
Speaker 4: don't just assume that the asset is automatically included or excluded. Now,
15:33
Speaker 4: there's one other wrinkle here. Well, one other wrinkle we're
15:37
Speaker 4: going to talk about, we'll say. Some colleges, particularly private schools,
15:42
Speaker 4: will require an additional form called the CSS profile. So
15:47
Speaker 4: the CSS profile can look at assets that FAFSA often ignores,
15:52
Speaker 4: and that can include home equity, business interests, and other
15:55
Speaker 4: family resources you might have. That's why it's really important
15:58
Speaker 4: to understand the requirements of the schools that your student
16:01
Speaker 4: is considering, not just looking at the FAFSA on its own.
16:06
Speaker 2: That is fascinating as we talk about some of the
16:09
Speaker 2: nuances of the federal student aid and I think that
16:14
Speaker 2: federal part is where all of a sudden we start
16:15
Speaker 2: talking about nuances and really important distinctions, really important stuff.
16:19
Speaker 2: We talked about FAFSA this morning with Eric and Nate.
16:22
Speaker 2: If you've got a question, we've got a line for you, 608-321-1310.
16:25
Speaker 2: That's 608-321-1310. Of course, Eric and Nate come to us
16:30
Speaker 2: from Kloss Financial, online klossfinancial.com. That's kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. Great
16:36
Speaker 2: day to learn all about Kloss Financial. You can also
16:38
Speaker 2: schedule a complimentary conversation right from the website or call
16:41
Speaker 2: the office right here in Madison, 608-442-5637. No charge for
16:46
Speaker 2: that initial Get to Know You appointment at klossfinancial.com. It
16:49
Speaker 2: will be complimentary to you. Again, the telephone number is 608-442-5637.
16:54
Speaker 2: Welcome to our conversation with Eric Schwartz and Nate Bribey
16:57
Speaker 2: of Kloss Financial. We will do that next as Money
16:59
Speaker 2: in Motion continues right here on 1310 WIBA. Talking with
17:03
Speaker 2: our retirement planning professionals from Kloss Financial, Eric Schwartz and
17:07
Speaker 2: Nate Bribey. Don't forget about the website, klossfinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com.
17:14
Speaker 2: A lot of great information there on the website. Again,
17:16
Speaker 2: that's glossfinancial.com. Their telephone number is 608-442-5637. No charge for
17:23
Speaker 2: that initial get-to-know-you appointment at Gloss Financial. It will be
17:26
Speaker 2: complimentary to you. Again, their number is 608-442-5637.
17:31
Speaker 1: 442-5637.
17:31
Speaker 2: Talking this week about the 2027 FAFSA. Again, a preview
17:37
Speaker 2: of it and why you need to start planning on
17:39
Speaker 2: this one today. Of course, today, a big day. I
17:41
Speaker 2: know today is move-in day. Now, one of the move-in days,
17:43
Speaker 2: getting ready for move-in weekend down at campus. You've got
17:46
Speaker 2: that college aid student or one that's going to be
17:49
Speaker 2: heading off to college very, very soon. This is really,
17:51
Speaker 2: really important information. Don't forget, if you miss any part
17:53
Speaker 2: of the program, You can always listen back to the
17:55
Speaker 2: podcast at KlossFinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, Financial.com. And Nate, after
18:01
Speaker 2: hearing all this stuff, I think some of the biggest
18:03
Speaker 2: misconceptions are out. There's a lot of big misconceptions out there.
18:07
Speaker 2: What are some of those that you come across when
18:09
Speaker 2: it comes to qualifying for financial aid?
18:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would honestly say the biggest is that people
18:16
Speaker 3: think that only low-income families should complete the FAFSA. And
18:19
Speaker 3: that's just really not true, honestly. The reality is that
18:22
Speaker 3: financial aid comes in many forms. And I'm going to
18:24
Speaker 3: say most colleges are going to require that, truly, to
18:29
Speaker 3: unlock any scholarships or merit programs. They're going to want
18:32
Speaker 3: to fast-run file regardless of your income. So I think, honestly,
18:36
Speaker 3: most families should expect to have to fill it out
18:39
Speaker 3: at some point regardless of your income. Now, another misconception
18:43
Speaker 3: we've addressed a number of times, but it's just so important.
18:46
Speaker 3: You shouldn't make a major financial decision solely to improve
18:49
Speaker 3: financial aid calculation. Now, there are some good financial decisions
18:52
Speaker 3: that help. kind of your own retirement planning and your
18:56
Speaker 3: financial aid eligibility, such as pre-tax 401k or IRA contribution
19:01
Speaker 3: and an HSA contribution that, you know, reduces your income,
19:06
Speaker 3: that puts more assets in your pocket for retirement. And
19:09
Speaker 3: as Eric said, those assets would be excluded and not
19:12
Speaker 3: count against you. So some of those things help both sides.
19:16
Speaker 3: So we often tell families, again, not to disqualify themselves
19:21
Speaker 3: before they even apply. Every school has its own approach,
19:24
Speaker 3: and we've seen families receive aid when they weren't expecting it.
19:28
Speaker 3: So the best approach is to understand the rules, complete
19:30
Speaker 3: the forms, and evaluate the opportunities that are actually available.
19:34
Speaker 2: Really good perspective, really important there as we talk this morning.
19:37
Speaker 2: With Nate Bribie and Eric Schwartz, they are our retirement
19:40
Speaker 2: planning professionals from Kloss Financial. Online, klossfinancial.com. That's Kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com.
19:47
Speaker 2: Their telephone number is 608-442-5668.
19:50
Speaker 1: 608-442-5637.
19:50
Speaker 2: No charge for that initial get-to-know-you appointment at Kloss Financial.
19:53
Speaker 2: It will be complimentary to you.
19:55
Speaker 1: Again, their number, 608-442-5637.
19:59
Speaker 2: And Eric, what if a family's, you know, financial situation
20:02
Speaker 2: looks very different today than it did when they did
20:06
Speaker 2: their tax return for the for the FAFSA that they're using?
20:10
Speaker 2: Maybe a parent retired, job change, lost a job, experience
20:13
Speaker 2: to drop an income, those type of things. Are they
20:16
Speaker 2: then just kind of stuck with those old numbers or
20:19
Speaker 2: what's going on there?
20:21
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's a great question, and the answer is not necessarily.
20:24
Speaker 4: So while FAFSA requires families to use that tax return
20:30
Speaker 4: specified by the rules that we were talking about earlier,
20:33
Speaker 4: colleges often have a process for reviewing what we could
20:36
Speaker 4: call special circumstances like you described there. So, for example,
20:40
Speaker 4: the parent loses a job, retires, experiences a significant reduction
20:45
Speaker 4: in their earnings, or maybe they encounter unusual medical expenses
20:50
Speaker 4: or it's always worth contacting the school's financial aid office
20:53
Speaker 4: because in some cases the school may be able to
20:55
Speaker 4: review the updated financial information and actually determine whether an
20:59
Speaker 4: adjustment to the aid calculation would be appropriate. The key
21:04
Speaker 4: is to be really proactive and have good documentation here.
21:07
Speaker 4: So if your current financial situation is substantially different from
21:12
Speaker 4: what appears on the tax return being used for the
21:15
Speaker 4: FAFSA purposes, don't assume that there is nothing that you
21:18
Speaker 4: can do. And really, that's the biggest takeaway from today's discussion,
21:21
Speaker 4: I think, is number one, don't assume you won't qualify
21:27
Speaker 4: for financial aid. Number two, understand that for the 2027-2028
21:31
Speaker 4: school year, your 2025 tax return will generally be your
21:36
Speaker 4: starting point. And third, make sure that college planning works
21:40
Speaker 4: hand-in-hand with your retirement, your tax, and your overall financial plan. Um,
21:45
Speaker 4: cause as we've talked about all of those other parts
21:48
Speaker 4: of your financial life are going to impact your ability
21:50
Speaker 4: to qualify for, um, for student aid. And as we
21:54
Speaker 4: always talk about on the show here, you know, the
21:56
Speaker 4: best outcome often come when, when families are starting their
22:01
Speaker 4: planning early and are not dealing with the prizes, um,
22:05
Speaker 4: right up at the end.
22:06
Speaker 1: Great guidance and really important stuff this week.
22:08
Speaker 2: A great conversation, whether you've got a, maybe a kiddo
22:11
Speaker 2: or a grandkiddo heading off to college. Really great tools,
22:15
Speaker 2: really great opportunities for you, but you've got to make
22:17
Speaker 2: sure that you're following the guidelines and, of course, planning
22:21
Speaker 2: for those. If you missed any part of the show,
22:23
Speaker 2: don't forget there's so much great information in this week's program.
22:26
Speaker 1: Always great information.
22:27
Speaker 2: You can listen back to this and previous shows right
22:29
Speaker 2: at klossfinancial.com. That's kloss, K-L-A-S, financial.com. Also, while you're there,
22:34
Speaker 2: you can schedule a complimentary free conversation right from the website, klossfinancial.com,
22:39
Speaker 2: Or you can always pick up the phone, give them
22:44
Speaker 2: a call, 608-442-5637. No charge for that initial get-to-know-you appointment
22:46
Speaker 2: at Colossal Financial. It will be complimentary to you.
22:49
Speaker 1: Again, their number, 608-442-5637.
22:51
Speaker 3: 442-5637.
22:51
Speaker 2: You're going to want to hold on to that telephone
22:54
Speaker 2: number as well because it's time now for the Kloss
22:56
Speaker 2: Quiz Question of the Week.
22:57
Speaker 1: It works like this.
22:58
Speaker 2: In just a moment, I'll ask you the Kloss Quiz
22:59
Speaker 2: Question of the Week. You will then have 30 minutes
23:01
Speaker 2: from the end of today's program to call the Kloss
23:03
Speaker 2: Financial Office right here in Madison at 608-442-5637. If you
23:09
Speaker 2: are the first caller with the correct answer, you win
23:11
Speaker 2: this week's prize, which is a $ 25 gift card to
23:14
Speaker 2: Texas Roadhouse. This week's Kloss Quiz Question of the Week
23:17
Speaker 2: is this. True or false? FASFA stands for Free Assessment
23:22
Speaker 2: for Farming Students. Is that true or is that false?
23:26
Speaker 2: Telephone number 608-442-5637. Again, that's the telephone number for Kloss
23:31
Speaker 2: Financial's office. First caller to win that $ 25 gift card
23:34
Speaker 2: to Texas Roadhouse. Don't forget as well, first appointment at
23:36
Speaker 2: Kloss Financial. It is complimentary to you. Eric, Nate, great
23:40
Speaker 2: stuff as always. I love this week's Kloss Quiz question
23:43
Speaker 2: of the week as well. Who else who ever wrote
23:45
Speaker 2: that one? Great stuff this morning. You guys enjoy this
23:48
Speaker 2: great day, and we'll talk real soon.
23:51
Speaker 4: Thanks, Sean.
23:51
Speaker 3: Take care.
23:52
Speaker 1: Take care, guys. News comes your way next right here
23:54
Speaker 1: on 1310 WIBA.