College savings for every future
Understanding 529 plans and their benefits
Give the gift of knowledge, career skills and life-changing opportunities to a loved one—in the form of a tax-advantaged, benefits-oriented college savings account that can be used for a variety of qualified educational expenses.
What is a 529 plan?
Kick-start your college fund with an account that’s flexible and simple to manage, and any earnings are tax-deferred!
A tax-advantaged way to save for college and other educational expenses
Can be used for expenses like tuition, fees, computers, textbooks, and housing and food1
A lower impact on financial aid qualification than many other investment options2
Can be opened with only $25 and 10 minutes of your time
What can Bright Start 529 do for me?
Tax-advantaged growth potential
With a Bright Start 529 account, you could save more with tax-deferred growth and 100% tax-free earnings for qualified withdrawals. Married Illinois taxpayers filing jointly can also reduce their state taxable income up to $20,000 per year, and taxpayers filing individually may deduct up to $10,000. When you pay less taxes, you have the ability to earn more and grow your college savings account faster, giving your beneficiary an even bigger head start!3
With our 529 Plan, you can grow your college savings faster.
Potential growth of $1 invested over an 18-year period with Bright Start 529 tax advantages.*
- Taxable Investment
- $2.94
- Tax-Deferred Investment
- $3.61
Read about material differences between bank savings accounts, taxable investments and Brigth Start 529.
Graph Footnotes
- *Hypothetical example. Assumes Taxable Investments/Bright Start 529 College Saving Plan ROI of 6% compounded annually and a savings account ROI of 0.39% (average rate for week of 4/17/2023 per FDIC: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/bankers/national-rates/index.html compounded continuously). Tax calculations assume federal tax rate of 22% and IL tax rate of 4.95%, that all taxes are paid at the end of the 18th year and that state taxes are not federally deductible. This illustration is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute advice, represent actual performance or predict future results, and does not reflect any reduction for expenses or benefit of a state tax deduction for Bright Start 529 contributions. This material does not take into account any specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor or suggest any specific course of action. Be sure to consult your legal or tax professional for advice. ↩
Flexible spending
A Bright Start 529 account can be used to pay for a wide range of qualifying educational expenses. Plus, you can withdraw money as needed for qualified expenses and even transfer funds to eligible beneficiaries at no cost.
- Use your savings at colleges; universities; technical and community colleges; graduate, post-graduate, or professional schools; apprenticeships; and more.4
- Pay for tuition, fees, computers, textbooks, housing, food and other required expenses.
- Pay for qualifying K-12 expenses.4
- Use your funds at eligible institutions in-state or anywhere in the world!
- Even use for student loan repayment subject to a lifetime limit of $10,000 per individual.4
Low fees and expenses
Saving for college for your child shouldn’t break the bank. That’s why investment expenses for the Bright Start 529 College Savings Plan are X/X the average 529 plan and less than X of what you’d pay for an advisor-sold plan.5
When you open an account, you can enjoy a variety of no-cost perks like:
- NO application fees
- NO cancellation fees
- NO change–in–beneficiary fees
- NO change–in–investment-portfolio fees
- NO loads or sales charges
- NO commissions
- NO transfer fees
Investment portfolios
The Bright Start 529 College Savings Plan offers a variety of professionally managed investment portfolios to fit your life situation, risk tolerance and college savings goals. So whether you’re a new or experienced investor, prefer to be hands-on or would rather “set it and forget it,” there’s a plan for you!
Investment Portfolios