As some parents and students have difficulty saving for college, many look to the Michigan Education Savings Program.

The program is intended to help Michigan residents save for college and possibly get a tax break at the same time.

The program invests money in stocks and bonds in order to help investor’s college savings grow and make it a little easier to pay for college. But with the stock market currently slowing down, some are worried the necessary money for a college education won’t be there when it is needed.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, sponsored the bill when he was a state senator. Although his accounts for his two young children have dropped, he is not concerned.

“As far as the stock market goes, there have been gains overall for a number of years,” said Sylvia Warner, a spokeswoman for Rogers. “If you invest, over time you’ll see it go up.”

The savings program began in November and already has more than 15,000 accounts started. It has even been named one of the top five state programs that are tax-incentive based in the country by Money Magazine.

The program is intended to allow Michigan residents of any financial means to begin saving for college. A minimum beginning amount of $25 is required, and those who start accounts can have money deducted weekly or monthly from paychecks or savings accounts.

Tom Pinto, spokesman for the savings program, believes anyone who has invested in the program or plans to invest should not be worried, and should look at the program in the long run.

“College savings are a long-term investment,” Pinto said. “Investing should be done on a long-term basis. A lot of people obviously got burned in the stock market in the past few months - if you need the money in six months, you may not want to be investing in anything.”

The program also provides a number of options for the investment strategy of a particular account.

Pinto pointed out the savings program recommends a managed allocation option that is based on age. Depending on the age of the child in which the account is set up for, a certain percentage will be put into more risky but potentially higher yielding investments, while another percentage would be put into safer and more consistent investments.

The older a participant, the more would be put into the safer investments. Pinto added the result is an almost guaranteed higher return for participants in the program.

“This is an excellent investment for long-term savings,” Pinto said.

Some of the problems with the program may simply be that it is still fairly new, in comparison to other state programs.

Mike Moleski, a financial adviser at H & R Block, says for a number of investors wondering how to financially prepare for college, just one program may not be the answer.

“It depends on what you want,” he said.

Moleski added most people within Michigan use educational IRAs or custodial accounts to ensure they are prepared for college.

“All of them are good vehicles,” he said. “I recommend a combination of a number of programs. It just depends which way you want to go.”