In the 2015-2016 school year, a couple with a 45-year-old elder parent could shield $28,200 from the estimated family contribution. If the elder parent is 55, the allowance rises to $36,300, and it rises to a maximum of $48,100 when the elder parent is 65 or over.

“Over the past couple of years, those allowances decreased significantly,” Orsolini says. “There’s no rationale that I’m aware of, and those numbers aren’t good for older parents.”

The allowance for single parents is less than half that for two-parent households, says Ross Riskin, an Orange, Conn.-based CPA and certified college planning specialist. “It’s unfair to single parents,” Riskin says. “The differences between the ages aren’t realistic—the difference in asset protection between a parent that is 45 and 55 is less than $10,000. That’s not much protection.”

For the estimated family contribution, parents must contribute 5.64% of the non-retirement assets exceeding the protection allowance. The institutional method employed by some private schools uses the College Board’s “CSS Profile” (short for College Scholarship Service), which may consider retirement savings and the value of the parents’ home, small businesses or farms, and assets controlled by non-custodial parents. Schools may calculate the estimated family contribution differently depending on the student, Darvis says.

“It ends up being a judgment call, depending on how much they want the student,” Darvis says. “If private schools really want a student and aid is the difference between [his or her] attending and not attending, they may choose not to assess retirement accounts or equity in the parents’ home.”

The CSS profile and the free application for federal student aid provide snapshots of family finances during a base year—the spring of students’ junior year and the fall of their senior year of high school. “It is important to have income as low and assets as high as possible that year,” Riskin says.

While the federal student aid application doesn’t consider money already in qualified retirement plans, parents are required to report voluntary contributions during a student’s base year as untaxed income. “Ideally, you want that year to be optimized,” Orsolini says. “Max out the 401(k) and any IRAs, pay down the house and consumer debt before that base year.”

Early planning helps prevent tough decisions—but if a choice must be made, advisors prioritize retirement over education. “Kids have options in college,” Orsolini says. “You can take out college loans. There are no retirement loans. There’s no application for retirement aid. Put retirement first.”

The most recommended tool for education savings is 529 plans, which offer tax-free growth. “I like 529s because they come with tax benefits that help higher income clients as well as middle-income clients,” Riskin says.

The estimated family contribution assesses plans in a student’s name or established by any person other than a parent at 20% instead of the 5.64% parental rate. When possible, assets should be transferred to a parent’s name before the base year.