Illinois First Steps:
$50 to Help You Start Saving for College

As education costs continue to rise, it’s important to begin saving early for your child’s future. Spark their college savings with a $50 seed deposit from Illinois First Steps. Children born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023, with parents who are residents of Illinois can receive the seed deposit through Bright Start or Bright Directions for their future college, technical, or apprenticeship education.

New Account Owners: Open Your Account & Claim

• Parents or legal guardians, work with your financial advisor to set up a Bright Directions account for your eligible child
• Complete the Claim section during the account enrollment process for your child’s $50 seed deposit
• Start contributing to build additional funds in your Bright Directions account

Existing Account Owners: Claim Here

• Confirm the parent or legal guardian is the account owner of the Bright Directions account
• Ensure your eligible child is the beneficiary of the Bright Directions account
• Claim their $50 seed deposit
• Keep contributing to your Bright Directions account to build additional funds

Who Is Eligible?

Live in Illinois

The parent or legal guardian must be a resident of Illinois at the time of birth or adoption and time of claim submission.

Have a New Child

The child listed as the beneficiary of the Bright Directions account must be born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023.

Open a Bright Directions 529 Plan

To claim the funds, the parent or legal guardian of the child born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023 must have an Illinois 529 college savings plan. Your financial advisor can assist with setting up a Bright Directions 529 college savings plan account.

Claim Today

Parents or legal guardians must claim the $50 seed deposit from Illinois First Steps before the child’s 10th birthday.

Learn More About Illinois First Steps

• Why should I start saving for college?

The cost of college keeps climbing: Over the last 20 years, college costs have risen over 134%. 1 Saving early gives you more time to set aside money and help set up your child for success. Studies have shown that the act of saving can motivate a student. Having any amount saved in a dedicated college savings account increases the likelihood of a child pursuing education after high school. 2 Higher education still matters and impacts your child’s future earning ability. The more advanced degree a student earns after high school, the more money they’re likely to earn based on median weekly earnings data. 3

• The State of Illinois will provide a seed deposit of $50 for an eligible child, born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023, to a parent who is a resident of Illinois at the time of birth or adoption.
• One Illinois First Steps $50 seed deposit may be claimed per eligible child.
• The parent or legal guardian of the eligible child must claim the funds for the beneficiary before the beneficiary’s 10th birthday.

1. Contact your financial advisor and open a Bright Directions 529 college savings account with their assistance.
2. Name the eligible child as beneficiary of the account.
3. Complete the simple claim form included on the Enrollment Form.
4. That’s it! Illinois First Steps will then review and verify the information submitted to validate the claim.

Bright Directions account owners who meet the Illinois First Steps eligibility requirements can claim the $50 seed deposit for their new child by submitting the online claim form. Or, the First Steps paper claim form can be downloaded here to be completed and mailed to Bright Directions.

The State of Illinois will provide a seed deposit of $50 for every eligible child, born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023. The seed deposits can be claimed for all eligible children of parents residing in Illinois at the time of the child’s birth or adoption. Children born to Illinois resident parents who give birth to a child outside Illinois (such as a family residing in Metro East who elects to give birth at a hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri) will be eligible for the program. Only one Illinois First Steps $50 seed deposit may be claimed per eligible child.

Once a parent or legal guardian submits a claim for the seed deposit, the information will be verified against birth records and information from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois Department of Revenue records. If the claim is verified, the seed deposit will be made the following quarter. The funds will be held in an omnibus account owned and administered by the Illinois State Treasurer.

Absolutely. Illinois First Steps is designed as a pledge to help you get started. After the $50 seed deposit, the rest of your college savings contributions to your Bright Directions account are up to you. You can make contributions at any time or set up an automatic investing plan for recurring deposits or even invite family and friends to make contributions to your Bright Directions account.

The beneficiary will be able to spend their seed funds — including any potential net earnings and interest — on qualified higher education expenses 4 as identified by Illinois (does not include K-12 expenses) once they complete high school or turn 18 years of age. To use the funds, they must be a resident of Illinois but may use the funds at qualified colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs anywhere in the United States and at some institutions abroad.

You can work with your financial advisor to open a Bright Directions account and start saving. Any adult age 18+ with a U.S. address and a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) can work with a financial advisor to open a Bright Directions 529 College Savings account. Bright Directions offer tax advantages for Illinois taxpayers looking to save for college. Bright Directions has consistently earned high ratings based on solid investment funds and plan design flexibility. The plans has attracted investors from across the nation.

Understanding 529 Plans

529 Plan Basics

Learn the ins and outs of a 529 college savings account, proven over time to be an effective way of saving for future education.

Benefits of a 529 Plan

Explore how flexible contributions and quality investment options make saving with Bright Directions an easy choice.

How Much Do I Need to Save?

See how planning ahead and saving over the long haul can help you set your student up for success.

Looking for something specific?

Open an Account with Your Financial Advisor

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  1 Elliott, W., III, Song, H-a., & Nam, I. (2013, March). Relationships between college savings and enrollment, graduation, and student loan debt (CSD Research Brief No. 13-09). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development. _back

  2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Economic News Release (3rd Quarter 2022 Averages — October 18, 2022). _back

  3 Withdrawals used to pay for Illinois Qualified Expenses are free from federal and Illinois state income tax. Illinois Qualified Expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for enrollment or attendance; certain room and board expenses incurred by students who are enrolled at least half-time; the purchase of computer or peripheral equipment, computer software, or Internet access and related services, if used primarily by the beneficiary during any of the years the beneficiary is enrolled at an eligible educational institution; certain expenses for special needs services needed by a special needs beneficiary; certain apprenticeship program expenses; and, repayment of up to $10,000 of qualified education loans for the beneficiary or a sibling of the beneficiary.

  Illinois Qualified Expenses do not include expenses for tuition in connection with the Beneficiary’s enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school; and rollovers to a non-Illinois 529 plan. The amount of any deduction previously taken for Illinois income tax purposes is subject to recapture in the event an Account Owner takes a Nonqualified Withdrawal or an Illinois Nonqualified Withdrawal from an Account.

  An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other important information is contained in the Bright Directions Advisor-Guided 529 College Savings Program Disclosure Statement, which can be obtained from your financial professional or at BrightDirections.com and should be read carefully before investing. You can lose money by investing in a portfolio. Each of the portfolios involves investment risks, which are described in the Program Disclosure Statement.

  Before you invest, consider whether your or the beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in that state’s 529 plan.

  The Bright Directions College Savings Program is sponsored by the State of Illinois and administered by the Illinois State Treasurer, as Trustee. Union Bank and Trust Company serves as Program Manager and Northern Trust Securities, Inc., acts as Distributor. Balances in your Bright Directions account are not guaranteed or insured by Bright Directions, the State of Illinois, the Illinois State Treasurer, any other state or federal agency, Union Bank and Trust Company or any of its affiliates, Northern Trust Securities, Inc. or any of its affiliates, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (except as provided in the Program Disclosure Statement solely with respect to the FDIC-insured Bank Savings Underlying Investment), or any other entity.

  NOT FDIC INSURED* NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE

  *Except the Bank Savings Underlying Investment