Pay Now, Learn Later (Forbes.com) Forbes.com - By now you probably know that earnings of Section 529 college savings accounts are free of federal tax if used for higher education. But taxes are only part of the problem. What if your investments tank? Just ask Laurence and Margo Williams of Alexandria, Va. In 2000 they put  #36;45,000 into the Virginia Education Savings Trust to open accounts for daughters Lea, now 5, and Anne, now 3. Since then their investment has shrunk 5 while the average private college tuition has climbed 18 to  #36;18,300.