Illinois' BrightStart Plan

You may have heard recently that there have been some changes made to the BrightStart 529 College Savings plan in Illinois. Our state Treasurer took a look at the state of things, and decided that it was time for a change.

What has happened is that the Treasurer has made a change to the administrator of the accounts, which is a very positive change for college savers. While the details are yet to come, we are being told that the new administrator, Oppenheimer, will provide the account at one of the lowest costs in the industry!

This plan was, a couple of years ago, the better of the two alternatives (at that time), but it wasn’t stellar by any means. The introduction of the newer Bright Directions plan has been a very positive influence, probably at least part of the reason why this change was made to the BrightStart plan.

I’ll keep an eye on things and let you know if these new developments warrant any changes to our current directions with regard to this type of account – but for now, if you’re already in either the BrightStart or Bright Directions plan, just stay put.