ALBANY - Many New York parents who saved for college tuition through the state's tax-free investment program haven't escaped the turmoil in global markets.

Depending on the portfolio, the performance of the 529 savings plans since January range between a 42 percent loss for the most aggressive plans and 2.48 percent gained in the most conservative options.

Parents with younger children generally take the hardest hit because many of the plans are set up to be more aggressive and risky early on.

“If you have a 2-year-old you've taken some hits,” said John Heywood, a principal in The Vanguard Group, which manages the state's 529 plans. “On the other hand, if their child is 16 and they chose a moderate or conservative track - they're actually ahead for the last 12 months.”

All but one of the 12 packages designed for specific age groups lost value since the beginning of the year.

Many parents will have to increase contributions to their portfolios, or contribute for a longer period to get the same payout they would have seen without the downturn.

According to the state Comptroller's office, 59 percent of the state's 529 accounts are in age-based portfolios. Another 11 percent are conservative - with no stock holdings - while 30 percent are divided among the most aggressive - and vulnerable - portfolios.

Parents will “notice a difference over the next couple of years as they try to make up what they lost,” said David Myers, an associate professor of finance at Lehigh University.

Risky portfolios made up mostly or entirely stocks are appropriate when children are still young because they usually have high growth potential and families have years for the market to bounce back after an economic hit. As they age, kids are moved into more conservative portfolios to reduce the risk of losing big in the last few years before heading to college.

But many experts and the comptrollers office are urging parents to wait out the downturn, noting that the plans have seen overall growth since inception and invested principal is intact. Myers said Vanguard didn't fare as badly as it might have because it wasn't highly exposed to some of the major market troubles, including the collapse of Lehman Brothers last month.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the 529 plans took major hits, leaving many families with less than what they had invested. The plans were managed then by TIAA, part of the financial firm TIAA-CREF. Vanguard took over in 2003.

About 296,000 people own New York 529 savings plans, which cover 492,000 children and teenagers, according to Vanguard.

That's increased since 2003, when 136,000 people held 211,000 accounts. The average balance of the accounts was about $13,000 as of Sept. 30, according to Vanguard.

Under the 529 program, individual New York taxpayers can deduct up to $5,000 in contributions each year from state taxable income and married couples filing jointly may deduct up to $10,000 annually.

The plans have seen overall growth in the past three years.

“Given that it's tax free, given that they've already enjoyed a return and given that we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, the best advice I can give to those families is to hang in there,” said Sherry Jarrell, a professor of economics and finance at Wake Forest University.