Obama says scaling back 529 college savings benefits wasn't worth it after opposition arose

President Barack Obama says he dropped a plan to scale back tax benefits for college savings accounts because it wasn't worth it.

He says he looked at reducing the tax savings because the accounts tended to be used by "folks a little more on the high end." He says lower-income taxpayers struggled to save enough to participate.

A grandmother attending an Obama town hall at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis asked him if the accounts would change.

Obama says he has 529 accounts for his own daughters, Malia and Sasha.

He says after opposition arose, he concluded the change wouldn't save enough money to keep pursuing.

The White House says the proposal would have raised about $1 billion over 10 years.