Forget the 529. These parents are saving for a future without college.

Parents are rethinking how to save for their kids' futures, as AI complicates the value of degrees. Some parents are shifting away from tax-advantaged 529 education savings plans. Others keep funding 529 plans, betting the rules will change in an AI future. When Nataliya Konovalova's sons were babies, she set up tax-advantaged 529 savings plans for them. On their birthdays, she'd tell relatives: no gifts, just contributions. As the boys got older — they are now eight and 10 — she began to change her mind about the value of a college education. Konovalova read stories about degree-holders working at McDonald's, and prestigious fellowships that take students straight out of high school. AI was the final straw. Konovalova had long discussions with her husband, who works in tech, about how AI is tightening the entry-level job market. Ultimately, the couple halved their contributions to the boys' 529 plans. "I honestly don't think they will go to a traditional four-year college," she said.

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