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A tiny number can make a huge difference in how much you "pay to save" using government-sponsored 529 college savings plans. The D.C. government scrambled to completely overhaul its 529 program after the News 4 I-Team found D.C. residents pay thousands more in fees than parents in neighboring states. The team created a special "529 Calculator" that lets parents type in the age of their child, how much they make and where they live to see a side-by-side comparison of how much they could save in each 529 plan in our region...and how much they end up paying in hidden fees. The seemingly simple mobile-friendly design belies an incredibly complex back-end formula, making it the only calculator of its kind available anywhere on the internet. This calculator helped the team definitively show D.C. parents were getting a raw deal - prompting the D.C. Treasurer's office to fire the plan's administrator and award a new contract less than six weeks after the initial investigation aired - saving D.C. parents hundreds of thousands of dollars previously wasted on hidden and unnecessary fees. Story #1: http://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Avoiding-High-529-Fees-Navigating-College-Savings-Plan-Pitfalls-397010181.html Story #2: http://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/DC-Council-Demands-Action-on-College-Savings-Plans-After-I-Team-Report-401179346.html Story #3: http://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/DC-Announces-New-Administrator-for-College-Savings-Plans-407522785.html