5 Illinois 529 Plan Investment Options Compared

Morningstar’s November 2025 review handed Bright Start its seventh straight Gold medal after another fee cut, and new federal rules now let you move up to $35,000 of leftover 529 money into a Roth IRA. Those two changes alone make 2025 a smart time to revisit how you’re saving for college. Stick with an Illinois plan and you can still deduct up to $10,000 ($20,000 for joint filers)—about $990 back at the 4.95 percent state rate before your money even hits the market. In this guide, we’ll compare five practical paths—Bright Start’s default and build-your-own tracks, the advisor-led Bright Directions plan, a cost-focused out-of-state option, and Illinois’s prepaid legacy—so you can match fees, features, and tax perks to your goals.

Overview of Illinois 529 plan options

Illinois sponsors two college-savings plans and one legacy prepaid plan, and you can still open any other state’s 529 if it suits you. Staying local can trim your tax bill because Illinois lets you deduct up to $10,000 ($20,000 for joint filers). At the 4.95 percent state rate, that’s roughly $990 back before investment returns kick in, according to the Savingforcollege contribution-limits explainer.

The in-state menu covers three levels of cost and control:

• Bright Start: a direct-sold savings plan you open online, with no sales charge and some of the lowest expense ratios in the country.
• Bright Directions: an advisor-sold plan that keeps the tax break but adds higher fund costs and, often, a front-end load for professional help.
• College Illinois!: a prepaid-tuition program that stopped selling new contracts in 2017; existing owners can still redeem credits for in-state tuition.

Max out the Illinois deduction first. If you still have dollars to invest or want funds you can’t get here, leading direct plans in Utah, Virginia, or Nevada (Vanguard) offer similar fees, but you give up the state write-off.

As you compare, focus on four levers—fees, long-term returns, tax perks, and everyday ease of use. We’ll unpack each one in the sections ahead.

How we compared the plans

To keep the review fair, we scored each option against five pillars:

The author’s scoring framework weights fees and tax value most heavily, followed by investment design, performance, and user experience.

1. Fees (30 percent): We tallied the full expense-ratio range, including advisor loads when they apply. A Vanguard example shows why this matters: investing $10,000 for 18 years at a 0.14 percent expense ratio instead of the 0.48 percent industry average can leave about $1,500 more for books.
2. Investment design (20 percent): We looked for age-based tracks that reduce risk over time, plus custom or specialty funds for hands-on investors.
3. Performance and third-party ratings (20 percent): Morningstar medals, Savingforcollege “5-Cap” scores, and multiyear returns show whether thoughtful design turns into real-world results.
4. Tax value (30 percent): Illinois savers prize the state deduction (up to $20,000 per joint return) and federal tax-free growth. We also tracked extras such as employer match credits and the new Roth IRA rollover.
5. User experience (weighted remainder): Minimum opening deposits, mobile apps, gifting portals, and clear statements all help families stick with the plan.

Instead of ranking the plans one through five, we regrouped them by use case because the best choice depends on your blend of cost concerns, desired guidance, and tax situation.

Bright Start direct-sold plan

Why Bright Start is Illinois’s default pick

With expense ratios that start at 0.07 percent and no minimum to open an account, the Bright Start 529 College Savings Plan keeps costs low, letting Illinois savers get started without an upfront hurdle.

Bright Start is Illinois’s direct-sold 529 plan, with online enrollment, low fees, and state tax benefits for local savers.

The core “Enrollment Year” portfolios glide automatically from stocks to bonds as your child approaches college. According to the Bright Start 529 enrollment-year guide at brightstart.com, you start by choosing the portfolio whose target year lines up with when you will first need the money, then pick an Aggressive or Moderate version to match your risk comfort—for example, a child born in 2021 and heading to college around age 18 would generally line up with a 2038/2039 portfolio. You can still opt for an all-index track built from Vanguard and BlackRock funds or an active-blend version without penalty, and either way rebalancing happens behind the scenes so you can focus on report cards, not asset mixes.

Because it is an Illinois plan, your contributions qualify for the state income-tax deduction—up to $10,000 for single filers or $20,000 for joint returns—creating an instant boost before growth even starts. For families who want a set-it-and-forget-it path at a rock-bottom cost, Bright Start is often the first and final stop on the 529 checklist.

Bright Start custom portfolios

When you want to build your own mix

If you like hands-on investing, Bright Start’s Choice-Based menu lets you pick from 16 individual funds plus three static risk-target portfolios, and you still keep the Illinois tax deduction.

Fund choices range from Vanguard Total Stock Market and DFA International Value to BlackRock inflation-protected bonds, so you can tilt toward small-cap value, add more foreign exposure, or stay fully indexed. Passive funds cost 0.07 percent to 0.15 percent a year, while the priciest active slots sit near 0.50 percent, well below the one-percent-plus fees common in advisor plans.

Two trade-offs matter:

• Federal rules allow only two investment changes per calendar year, so frequent traders may feel limited.
• Ongoing care. Your custom mix will not glide to safety on its own; you need to rebalance or switch tracks as college approaches.

The upside is flexibility without losing tax perks, and you can shift back to an Enrollment Year option with just a few clicks. For do-it-yourself investors—or anyone looking for ESG or factor tilts absent from the default glide path—Custom delivers control at a bargain price.

Bright Directions advisor-guided plan

Paying extra for hands-on advice

Bright Directions is Illinois’s advisor-sold 529. You open the account through a financial professional who builds the portfolio, reviews it with you, and folds college saving into your broader plan.

Bright Directions is Illinois’s advisor-sold 529 plan, offering tax advantages and a broad investment menu for families who prefer professional guidance.

The menu is broad: about 36 individual funds, plus seven target-risk portfolios and a full age-based series, roughly double the lineup in Bright Start.

That flexibility costs more:

• Expense ratios:14 percent to 1.54 percent, based on share class and active-management level.
• Sales load: Class A shares carry up to a 4 percent front-end charge, often reduced at higher breakpoints.

Because fees trim returns, Bright Directions usually earns a 4.0-of-5 “Cap” score from Savingforcollege (versus 4.5-of-5 for Bright Start) and often lands in Morningstar’s Silver or Bronze tier instead of Gold.

Who benefits? Families already working with an advisor, high-income households managing complex portfolios, and grandparents who prefer professional oversight. You still capture the Illinois tax deduction, and the added coaching or tax integration may outweigh the higher cost if the advisor delivers clear, after-fee value. Otherwise, Bright Start plus an occasional check-in can reach the same goal for less.

Top out-of-state contender: Vanguard 529 Plan (Nevada)

A benchmark for fee hawks

The Vanguard 529 Plan offers all-index portfolios with expense ratios as low as 0.14 percent, matching Bright Start’s passive track and sitting well below the 0.48 percent industry average.

Vanguard’s low-cost 529 plan is a strong out-of-state option once you’ve maxed out Illinois 529 tax deductions.

Here is the catch if you live in Illinois: contributions to an out-of-state plan earn no state deduction, so you could give up about $495 in tax savings when you put the first $10,000 into Vanguard at the 4.95 percent state income-tax rate.

A simple two-step rule usually works:

1. Max your Illinois bucket first: up to $20,000 per married return each year.
2. Use Vanguard 529 only for dollars above that cap or when you want every cent in Vanguard funds.

Other trade-offs:

• Menu simplicity: Vanguard’s age-based tracks glide from nearly 100 percent stocks to short-term bonds, and its static options range from conservative to aggressive. You will not find ESG or active bets, which keeps the lineup clean.
• User experience: Online enrollment and auto-invest schedules mirror Vanguard’s brokerage platform—functional but spare. There is no Illinois-style rewards card or employer match.

Who is it for? High-income families who already hit the state deduction and fee purists who want to park everything with Vanguard. Most other savers will keep more, after tax, by staying with Bright Start.

College Illinois! prepaid tuition (closed to new contracts)

What happened and what it means if you own a contract

College Illinois! let families lock in future in-state tuition when it launched in 1998, but the program stopped selling new contracts in 2017 after tuition increased faster than investment returns and the fund developed a shortfall. According to the program’s website, the state has worked to shore up the plan, including a $230 million lump-sum payment to the trust fund in 2022, and about 19,000 contracts remain active.

College Illinois! is closed to new contracts but continues to honor existing prepaid tuition agreements for Illinois families.

If you hold one of those contracts, benefits remain in force:

• Illinois public colleges: Tuition and mandatory fees are covered in full, no matter how high prices climb.
• Private or out-of-state schools: The plan converts credits to a dollar amount; for 2025–2026, a pre-2009 university contract pays $594.40 per credit hour at a semester school, according to College Illinois.

For new savers, the takeaway is structural. Prepaid plans push market risk to the sponsor; if the sponsor underfunds promises, savers may face uncertainty. Today Illinois residents who want similar predictability can look to fully funded programs in states like Florida or Virginia, or use a conservative 529 savings portfolio and steady contributions to manage risk themselves.

Remember, prepaid contracts usually cover tuition only—room, board, and laptops still need a separate budget, which a traditional 529 savings plan can handle.

Below is a quick reference table; use it to narrow choices before diving back into the details we already covered.

*Advisor share classes may add up to a 4 percent front-end load.

If cost and simplicity top your list, start with Bright Start’s default track. Want to tweak allocations? The Custom option works inside the same shell. Prefer an advisor? Bright Directions can help, so budget for higher fees. Already maxed the state deduction? Nevada’s Vanguard plan is a clean overflow bucket.

Additional considerations and 2025 updates

• K-12 tuition and student loans. Federal rules let you withdraw up to $10,000 per year for private-school tuition and another $10,000 lifetime for qualified student-loan repayment; certified apprenticeship costs also qualify. Illinois reclaims prior deductions on K-12 spending but follows federal rules for loans and apprenticeships.
• Roth rollover safety valve. Since 2024, unused 529 dollars can move into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA, up to $35,000 in total and subject to annual Roth limits. Illinois treats the move as a qualified distribution, so you face no penalty and no recapture.
• Contribution caps. A single beneficiary can hold roughly $550,000 (indexed each January) across Illinois 529 accounts before new contributions stop. Keep the federal gift-tax exclusion in mind: $17,000 per giver each year, or $85,000 with five-year averaging.
• Ownership and financial aid. Parent-owned 529s count as parental assets on the FAFSA at a maximum 5.64 percent assessment rate; grandparent-owned accounts are ignored under the simplified 2024 FAFSA.
• Recent upgrades. Bright Start switched to TIAA in late 2024, launched a mobile app and gifting portal, and cut passive-track fees by 13 percent. Bright Directions trimmed several active-fund costs and added ESG screens.
• Legislation watch. No bill to raise the Illinois deduction limit or add matching grants has passed both chambers as of December 2025. Federally, 529-to-ABLE rollovers expire on December 31, 2025 unless Congress extends the rule.
• Quick tips. Automate monthly drafts, share the plan’s gifting link for birthdays, and keep receipts for any K-12 withdrawals in case the state asks for proof.

K-12 tuition, student loans, and other twists

Under federal law, you can withdraw up to $10,000 each year for K-12 tuition and another $10,000 over a lifetime to repay qualified student loans; certified apprenticeship costs also qualify.

Illinois has not adopted the K-12 provision. If you tap Bright Start or Bright Directions for private-school tuition, the state adds back any earlier deductions and erases your tax break. Student-loan and apprenticeship withdrawals follow federal rules, so no state penalty applies.

Bottom line: keep private-school tuition in a separate bucket such as cash or another state’s 529, but feel free to use your Illinois 529 for loan payoff or apprenticeships after college.

The new 529-to-Roth rollover option

Under SECURE 2.0, you can shift unused 529 dollars into a Roth IRA owned by the beneficiary starting in 2024, subject to four rules:

1. Lifetime cap: up to $35,000 total per beneficiary.
2. Annual cap: the rollover counts toward the yearly Roth contribution limit ($7,000 for 2025).
3. Account age: the 529 must be at least 15 years old.
4. Seasoning rule: you cannot roll over contributions (or earnings on them) made in the last five years.

The new 529-to-Roth rollover rules turn leftover college savings into an early boost for the beneficiary’s retirement—without losing Illinois tax benefits.

These transfers are tax- and penalty-free and, under Illinois law, count as qualified distributions, so you keep past state deductions with no recapture. If you end up with excess funds—perhaps after a large scholarship—this rule turns extra college money into an early boost for retirement instead of a tax headache.

How much can you pour in?

• Illinois plan cap: Each beneficiary can hold up to $550,000 (adjusted each January for inflation) across all Illinois 529 accounts. After you reach that balance, new contributions pause, but earnings may still grow.
• Federal gift-tax rules: 529 deposits count as gifts. In 2025 you can give up to $17,000 per recipient without filing a gift-tax return, or use the special 529 election to front-load up to $85,000 and treat it as spread over five years. Married couples can double those numbers.

Most families never hit the plan maximum, yet knowing the limit helps grandparents who want to prepay several years of tuition or put a windfall to work efficiently.

Who owns what and why it matters

Ownership shapes both control and financial-aid math:

• The named owner—not the beneficiary—can change investments, switch beneficiaries, and decide when to withdraw. Most plans let you name a successor during enrollment in case the owner dies.
• FAFSA impact. Parent-owned 529s count as parental assets and are assessed at up to 5.64 percent of their value when calculating the Student Aid Index, a modest hit compared with student-owned assets. Grandparent-owned accounts are not reported on the simplified FAFSA, and starting with the 2024–2025 cycle, distributions from those accounts no longer appear as student income.
• CSS Profile caveat. About 200 private colleges use the CSS Profile, which does include grandparent-owned and sibling 529s in its asset tally. If your target school is on that list, check its policy before deciding who should hold the account.

Practical tip: many parents keep the primary 529 for simplicity, while grandparents open a separate account to boost savings without hurting aid.

Recent plan upgrades

• Bright Start. On September 30, 2024 the plan switched to TIAA as program manager, rolled out a mobile app and digital gifting portal, and cut its average asset-weighted fees by 13 percent, saving account owners about $7 million a year.
• Bright Directions. In 2025 the advisor-sold plan lowered expense ratios on several active portfolios (for example, U.S. Equity Select dropped from 0.92 percent to 0.79 percent) and added two ESG screens, which helped it earn Morningstar’s only rating upgrade of the year, moving from Bronze to Silver.

These changes keep Illinois 529s competitive on cost and features, giving you robust options without leaving the state.

Pending legislation to watch

• Illinois deduction expansion. As of December 2025, HB 3801 (filed February 14, 2025) would raise the state deduction to $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for joint returns, plus a $250 match for households earning under $80,000. The bill passed the House Revenue Committee but has not reached a floor vote.
• Automatic payroll deduction. SB 2127 would let employers route paycheck contributions directly into Bright Start. The Senate sent the bill to the Pensions Committee in March, and it has not moved since adjournment.
• Federal ABLE rollover sunset. The rule allowing tax-free 529 transfers to an ABLE account ends on December 31, 2025 unless Congress extends it.

None of these proposals are law yet. Keeping an eye on them can help you time contributions and rollovers more effectively.

Quick housekeeping tips

• Automate contributions. Set a monthly ACH draft, even $50, and you could add about $600 to the account each year without extra effort.
• Use the plan’s gifting link. Bright Start and Bright Directions provide shareable URLs that relatives can fund in minutes, so holiday cash lands invested instead of in a toy box.
• Save documentation. Keep PDFs or photos of receipts for any K-12 or student-loan withdrawals because Illinois may ask for proof if you claimed the state deduction and later spend outside higher-education expenses.

Conclusion

Illinois families have a strong roster of 529 choices. Bright Start’s default track suits most cost-conscious savers, while its Custom option caters to hands-on investors without sacrificing the state tax break. Bright Directions can add personalized guidance for those willing to pay higher fees, and Nevada’s Vanguard plan provides a low-cost overflow bucket once you max out Illinois deductions. Legacy contract holders remain protected under College Illinois!, but new savers will likely prefer the flexibility and transparency of modern savings plans. Review your goals, claim the tax perks you’re entitled to, and automate contributions so today’s small steps grow into tomorrow’s tuition payments.