Making college education more affordable is a central goal of the Obama Administration and has been a focus of Vice-President Biden's Taskforce on the Middle Class. To that end, the Task Force asked U.S. Treasury Department to prepare this report on how to make Section 529 college savings plans a more effective and reliable tool for families to save for college. The report discusses the benefits of 529s as a way to build savings for this critically important investment, the extent to which Section 529 plans serve various income groups, and how well the plans keep costs low so to maximize returns to savers. In addition, as requested by the Vice President, the report highlights exemplary practices and makes a set of recommendations on how to make Section 529 plans more effective and reliable. The report relies on information from a variety of sources, including academic research, an extensive database maintained by the College Savings Network (CSPN) on Section 529 plan features and investment options, and 66 submissions that were received in response to Treasury's request for information posted in the Federal Registry. (Contains 12 footnotes, 13 tables, and 3 figures.)