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

Illinois wants to help all families save for college. Illinois First Steps provides a free, one-time $50 seed deposit for Illinois residents when they open a Bright Start 529 account for a child born or adopted on January 1, 2023 or later.

New account owners:
Open an account to claim

  • A parent or legal guardian can set up a Bright Start 529 account for an eligible child (grandparents, other relatives and friends are not eligible to submit a claim unless they are a legal guardian).
  • Claim your child's $50 seed deposit during the Bright Start 529 enrollment process.
  • Start contributing to build additional funds in your Bright Start 529 account.

Open an Account

Existing account owners:
Log in to claim

  • Confirm a parent or legal guardian is the account owner of the Bright Start 529 account (grandparents, other relatives and friends are not eligible to submit a claim unless they are a legal guardian).
  • Ensure your eligible child is the beneficiary of the Bright Start 529 account.
  • Log in to claim their $50 seed deposit.
  • Keep contributing to your Bright Start 529 account to build additional funds.

Log In

Who Is Eligible?

To qualify for a one-time $50 seed deposit from Illinois First Steps, you must:

  • 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 Start 529 account must be born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023.

  • Open a Bright Start 529 account

    To claim the funds, the parent or legal guardian of the child born or adopted on or after January 1, 2023 must have a Bright Start 529 college savings account. Open an account here.

  • Submit your claim

    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

Illinois First Steps is a program designed to jump-start college savings for new parents or legal guardians of an eligible child. The key features include the following:

  • 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 or legal guardian who is a resident of Illinois at the time of birth or adoption.
  • Only one Illinois First Steps one-time $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.

It’s easy—the parent or guardian of the eligible child would follow these simple steps:

  1. Open a Bright Start 529 account.
  2. Name the eligible child as beneficiary of the account.
  3. Complete the simple claim form included in the new account set up process.
  4. That’s it! Illinois First Steps will then review and verify the information submitted to validate the claim.

Bright Start 529 account owners who meet the Illinois First Steps eligibility requirements can claim the one-time $50 seed deposit for their new child by logging in to your account.

The State of Illinois will provide a one-time 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 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 one-time $50 seed deposit, the rest of your college savings contributions to your Bright Start 529 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 Start 529 account.

The beneficiary will be able to spend their seed funds—including any potential net earnings and interest—on qualified higher education expenses 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 eligible colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs anywhere in the United States and at some institutions abroad.1

Footnotes

Bright Directions account owners who meet the Illinois First Steps eligibility requirements can claim the one-time $50 seed deposit for their new child. Contact your advisor to establish an account and make your claim.

You can open a Bright Start 529 account and start saving. Any adult age 18+ with a U.S. address and a Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number can open a Bright Start 529 College Savings account.

Ready to open an account?

Enroll Today

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