Prairie State Wire

Families with a Bright Start College Savings Program (Bright Start 529) will soon benefit from lower fees, access to low-cost, high-quality investments, and a new mobile app for account management, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced Thursday.

"We worked to ensure that more of a family's hard-earned savings goes toward the cost of college or a vocational school," Frerichs said. "I am a firm believer in continuous improvement, especially for a program as crucial to Illinois families as college savings. One of my proudest accomplishments as State Treasurer has been taking a troubled program and transforming it into one of the nation's best. I'm excited to announce today that we are making it even better."

The changes will take effect on September 30 as TIAA assumes the role of Bright Start 529 program manager. TIAA is recognized for its expertise in managing 529 college savings plans. This agreement marks the largest new plan mandate in TIAA's Education Savings business history and follows a competitive proposal process.

"Access to higher education is one of the keys to unlocking long-term economic opportunity for Americans and we believe this relationship with Illinois will help more people to plan, save, and pay for college expenses," said David Nason, Chief Operating Officer of TIAA and President of TIAA Wealth Management. "The 529 marketplace is dynamic, and it is essential we provide college savers in Illinois the tools and information they need as they plan and prepare to pay for these expenses with confidence."

Currently among the lowest-cost 529 savings plans nationwide, Bright Start 529 will further reduce total average asset-weighted fees by 13 percent. This reduction builds on over $100 million in fee reductions previously achieved under Frerichs' tenure.

Enhanced technology will improve user experience significantly. A new Bright Start 529 mobile app will enable account owners to manage accounts, check balances, and open additional accounts for new beneficiaries via their phones. The account opening process will be expedited, and sending money directly to colleges will become easier and faster. Additionally, parents can now claim their one-time Illinois First Steps $50 seed deposit online when opening an account for children born or adopted on January 1, 2023 or later.

The investment lineup will transition from an Age-Based Portfolio structure to an Enrollment Year Portfolio structure. This change aims to offer more flexibility in meeting varying investment objectives and risk profiles tied to the future student's year of enrollment or use rather than their age.

More Bright Start 529 business operations will involve Illinois-based companies such as Nuveen (investment partner), Razorfish, and Purple Group (marketing firms).

The transition period from September 25 at 3 p.m. through September 29 means no withdrawals, contributions, or account changes can be processed during this time. Account access resumes at 7 a.m., September 30.

Parents are advised to withdraw funds by September 18 if tuition is due by September 28 at institutions like the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois University.

After the transition, parents must re-establish online account access on brightstart.com and update payroll instructions with their employer. Transition communications have been sent via emails and mailers; all details are posted at BrightStartEnhancements.com.

Under Frerichs' leadership, Bright Start 529 has received national recognition from Time, Business Insider, Morningstar, Forbes, and Savingforcollege.com.

Research indicates that children are three times more likely to attend college if they know they have a dedicated college savings account. For more information or to open an account without any minimum amount required, visit BrightStart.com.

Illinois' $20 billion assets in its 529 plan include over half a million self-directed accounts under Bright Start 529 and advisor-guided accounts under Bright Directions. With this addition from Illinois direct-sold plans managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing Inc., TIAA now manages over $46 billion across various states' plans.

For additional information about investing in the plan including risks and benefits specific to state tax laws or financial aid opportunities available only within certain states’ plans consult your tax advisor before investing.

___