More and more people are proactively planning what they will be doing in retirement, and for many, it is to move on to some different type of career. I had a very high executive client at a Fortune 500 company who retired and went to law school. But consider some of the following possibilities:

• A semester at sea studying marine biology
• A year-long French lit course in Paris
• A fall session exploring art in Guadalajara
• A summer of music appreciation in Vienna
• An ecological field trip to Costa Rica  

(See http://www.petersons.com/Â for more possibilities.)

If there is a good possibility you might do something like this, it could make sense for you to open a 529 account for yourself.

Many educational institutions that you think might not be accredited actually are including institutions located outside the United States. The key is whether they participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs. To find out, go to the Department of Education’s database of accredited programs and institutions. (http://www.ed.gov/students/grad/school/edpicks.jhtml?src=ln)

If you decide not to go to school or ends up accumulating more money in the 529 plan than you can use for education, you have three options:

• Give the money to a family member a grandchild, say by changing the beneficiary on the plan
• Let it remain in her account and eventually become part of her estate
• Spend it on something other than education and pay taxes plus a 10% penalty (which is not such a terrible option if the client really needs the money)

Of course, the earlier you start, the greater the benefit.