Saving for kids and college is a topic that sparks plenty of debate. Ask three financial advisors the same question and you may well get three different answers, which makes it genuinely difficult to know how much to set aside.
In the case of one Redditor in r/fatFIRE, his post tells us he has put away almost $1 million between two children for their education. He is asking how best to continue saving for school while largely glossing over the fact that he has already saved more than enough.
What makes this post worth examining is the father’s honesty about his own uncertainty. It takes a certain self-awareness to ask for input when the numbers, on paper, look perfectly fine. His instinct to over-provide for his children is admirable, even if the math suggests he can stand down.
The Scenario
The Redditor is a 47-year-old widower with two children. The older child is in 10th grade, the younger in 7th, so college is a near-term reality for at least one of them. His $9.7 million net worth was built largely on two household incomes; now he is the sole earner, with a household income of $450,000 a year.
The balance sheet breaks down as follows: a home valued at $2.1 million with $953,000 still owed on the mortgage, $4.6 million in taxable investments, a retirement account worth $2.9 million, and a combined 529 balance of $1 million split between the two children. After taxes, medical costs, retirement contributions, and 529 contributions, his net take-home pay runs about $260,000 a year.
The Recommendation
The short answer to the Redditor’s core question is that the job is already done. With $1 million sitting in 529 accounts for two children, he has far more than enough to cover even the most expensive private college experience. According to the College Board, the average published tuition and fees at a private nonprofit four-year school reached $45,000 for the 2025-26 academic year, with total cost of attendance (tuition, room, and board) running about $60,920. A $500,000 per-child 529 balance covers four years of that all-in cost more than twice over, even without further investment growth. The case for stopping all new 529 contributions is overwhelming.
There is also a practical tax consideration here. The IRS treats 529 contributions as gifts, so any amount above $19,000 per beneficiary per year in 2025 requires filing a gift tax return. With the accounts already heavily funded, continuing to pour money in creates unnecessary paperwork and potential gift-tax exposure with no meaningful benefit.
One development worth knowing about: under the SECURE 2.0 Act, which took effect in January 2024, families can roll up to $35,000 of unused 529 funds into a Roth IRA owned by the beneficiary, provided the account has been open for at least 15 years and the annual rollover does not exceed the Roth IRA contribution limit for that year. The rollover limit is $7,000 per year in 2025. For this father, whose accounts may not yet meet the 15-year threshold for both children, the provision is not an immediate solution, but it does meaningfully reduce the long-term risk of being trapped with oversized accounts. Any funds the children do not use for school can eventually be redirected into their own retirement savings.
On the retirement side, the Redditor has projected that a 4% annual growth rate on his retirement account would take it to $10 million by the time he turns 75. At that point, he anticipates a required minimum distribution of roughly $376,000. Under current law, RMDs from traditional retirement accounts begin at age 73, not 75, so he would actually begin drawing down his account two years earlier than his model assumes. After taxes, his after-RMD income would land around $253,000 a year, which is more than sufficient, particularly as his mortgage and child-related expenses wind down over time.
The Takeaway
This father deserves credit for thinking ahead. His children will enter adulthood without student loan debt, which is a gift whose value many people only fully appreciate years later. The question of whether he over-contributed to the 529 accounts is largely academic: the father has already confirmed he is open to passing any surplus to future generations, so no money is truly wasted.
The more interesting question is what he should do with the freed-up cash flow once he stops 529 contributions. At 47, with a $9.7 million net worth and no dependents in the near future, there is a strong argument that working until a traditional retirement age is entirely optional. A sabbatical, a period of travel, or simply a slower pace of life while the kids finish high school and college are all within reach. The empty-nest years will arrive sooner than expected, and his financial position gives him room to enjoy them on his own terms.
Editor’s note: This update adds current College Board data on private college costs for 2025-26, notes the SECURE 2.0 provision allowing up to $35,000 in unused 529 funds to be rolled into a Roth IRA starting in 2024, and clarifies that under current law RMDs from traditional retirement accounts begin at age 73, two years earlier than the Redditor’s own retirement model assumes.
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