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ILLINOIS’ 529 COLLEGE SAVINGS PLAN

Your children deservean opportunity for highereducation, and you canhelp them achieve it.Whether your kids are learning to walk or are intheir teenage years, it’s never too late to preparefor their futures. Opening a Bright Start CollegeSavings account doesn’t take much, and it’s agreat way to help your children avoid a lifetimeof debt. Every day you don’t save is a missedopportunity to do something great.In the following pages, you will learn moreabout saving for your child’s future, explore themany Bright Start College Savings optionsand deepen your understanding of what‘scovered under each plan. Today’s a good dayto learn more about saving for the future.Today’s a good day.VISIT BRIGHTSTARTSAVINGS.COM TO LEARN MORE.3

Start preparing todayfor a brighter tomorrow.Three Pillars of Paying for CollegeFor the vast majority of families, paying for a child’s educationis rarely an all-or-nothing proposition. Because only a select fewstudents receive full scholarships, most families typically take athree-pronged approach:SavingsFinancialAidStudentLoansThe exact mix matters because it greatly influences the true costof college. Families who save even modest amounts early and oftencan potentially reduce their out-of-pocket cost significantly and helpkeep their children from a lifetime of debt.5

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Your Child’s Future, Realized.What is a Bright Start CollegeSavings Plan?How Can My AccountGrow Over Time?Simply put, it’s an investment plan that helps youThanks to the power of compounding,save for your child’s future education. We want towhich is the ability to earn money onhelp take the guesswork out of saving by offeringprevious earnings, saving as little as 15various strategies to fit your exact saving goals.a month can significantly increase youraccount balance over time. Please seethe below example to further understandWhen Should I Start Saving?the potential of your account.It is always a good day to start saving. Thephrase, “a dollar saved is two dollars earned,” istruly a powerful statement, one that exemplifiesThe Power ofCompounding 4,062.18college savings plans and one of the reasonsto start saving now. By starting early, you canlessen your financial burden, build your accountover time and plan for the day they go to college. 2,370.41You can make saving even easier by signing upfor an automatic monthly investment program toensure you never miss a contribution. 1After10 YearsAfter15 YearsHypothetical growth of account with 25 initialinvestment plus 15 each month over 10- and15-year periodsThis example is for illustrative purposes only and doesnot predict or depict the returns on any investment.This hypothetical example assumes an annual rate ofreturn of 5% with no fluctuation in principal. It doesnot reflect the effects of taxes, plan fees and expenses,and assumes that the investments are made at thebeginning of each month.1. Systematic investing does not assure a profit and does not protect against loss in declining markets. Before investing, investorsshould read the Program Disclosure Statement and evaluate their long-term financial ability to participate in such a plan.Disclosure Statement and evaluate their long-term financial ability to participate in such a plan.s.7

Benefits to a Bright Start AccountBright Start offers a number of advantages that make it easier to pay for your child’s higher education.Low FeesBright Start College Savings is among the nation’s mostaffordable 529 plans.You can open an account with an initial contribution as little as 25Low Minimumsand make additional investments of 15 or more. Please see theProgram Disclosure Statement for more details.Extensive SchoolChoicesYou can use your Bright Start savings at most accredited public andBroad EligibilityParents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even family friends areA Wide Rangeof InvestmentsFrom Age-Based to Choice-Based portfolios, Bright Start offersFlexibility toChange YourInvestment Optionsprivate institutions in the U.S., as well as some foreign institutions.eligible to contribute to your account.expansive investment options for you and your family.You have control over your savings and how they are allocatedamong your investment options.9

Tax Advantages: Another Way to SaveBright Start College Savings offers a number of advantages that make it easier to save money, grow assets and pay foryour child’s future. Your 529 plan also provides special tax benefits intended to help families save for higher education.Tax-Free WithdrawalsThe Benefits of Tax-free GrowthAll withdrawals are federal tax free and state taxfree for Illinois residents as long as the money isused to pay for qualified educational expenses. 30,000Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, books,room and board, and even equipment likecomputers and internet connection. 20,000State Tax DeductionsOverall contributions to Illinois 529 plans aredeductible from your Illinois state taxable income,up to 10,000 ( 20,000 if married and filingjointly) per year, including the contribution (but 10,000not earnings) portion of rollovers from otherstate 529 plans.2 The amount of any deduction0369121518YearsTax-advantaged (Tax-free) Account 24,066Taxable Savings Account 18,096This hypothetical illustration assumes an initial investment of 10,000and a 5% annual rate of return. The taxable account assumes a 28%federal and 5% state tax rate. The illustration does not represent theperformance of any specific account or investment and does notreflect any plan fees or charges that may apply. If such fees or chargeshad been taken into account, returns would have been lower.previously taken for Illinois individual income taxpurposes is subject to recapture if such assetsare rolled over to a non-Illinois 529 plan.Estate and Gift Tax BenefitsBright Start is an attractive option forgrandparents and extended family membersbecause contributions are excluded froman account owner’s estate when taxes areassessed. Additionally, they can contribute upto 14,000 ( 28,000 for married couples)annually, per beneficiary, or up to 70,000( 140,000 for married couples) proratedover a five-year period without having to paygifts taxes.32. Based on informal guidance from the Illinois Department of Revenue that is not binding on the Department.3. If the account owner dies before the end of the five-year period, a prorated portion of the contribution allocable to the remaining years in thefive-year period, beginning with the year after the contributor’s death, will be included within his or her estate for federal estate tax purposes.10

Investment OptionsBright Start College Savings offers many portfolio options and allocation strategies designed to helpyou find the right fit for your savings goal.4 You may invest in the Age-Based Portfolios, the ChoiceBased Portfolios or a combination of both. Additionally, each portfolio offers a choice of investmentmanagement strategies. With Bright Start you can choose an Index Strategy, a Blended Strategy or acombination of the two.Index StrategyBlended StrategyGenerally, the strategy is designed togenerate returns that attempt to trackthe performance of a major market indexover the long term. Transaction costs andother expenses are lower because yoursecurities held mimic a major market index.This strategy offers a combination of indexand actively managed investments in oneportfolio. Actively managed investmentsare designed to generate returns thatattempt to beat a major market index overthe long term.4. The portfolios’ investments are managed by OppenheimerFunds, Inc., The Vanguard Group and American Century Investments.Allocation FlexibilityYou have the opportunity to change how your savings are allocated among investment options shouldyour needs and goals change. However, certain rules apply. You may adjust your allocations for moneypreviously invested twice per calendar year, and you may at any time allocate new contributions among anycombination of available investment options.11

Age-Based PortfoliosYour account is placed in one of six portfolios, based on the beneficiary’s age and your choice of an active or index strategy,and automatically adjusts over time. The asset allocation of the portfolio aims to be more aggressive when the beneficiaryis younger, and to grow more conservative as the beneficiary grows older.Blended StrategyAge-Based10%10%30%40%Portfolio60%fixed income and money market investments.Seeks moderate growth by investing in a30%60%toward equity investments over fixed incomeand money market investments.Seeks moderate growth by investing in a10%balanced asset allocation weighted equally50%50%Portfolio40%30%between equity investments and fixed incomeand money market investments.20%50%55%10%Age-Based50%Seeks conservative growth by investing in15%15–17 YearsPortfolio70%balanced asset allocation slightly weightedAge-Based18 YearsSeeks growth by investing in an allocation10%Age-BasedPortfolioare invested in fixed income investments to helpweighted toward equity investments versus20%70%PortfolioAge-Based90%provide some protection from equity volatility.Age-Based12–14 YearsSeeks long-term growth by investing primarily10%90%Portfolio10–11 YearsPortfolio Objectivein equity investments. A percentage of assets0–6 Years7–9 YearsIndex Strategy20%30%10%income and money market investments andequity investments.Seeks preservation of capital with minimalgrowth by investing primarily in fixed income40%50%an asset allocation weighted between fixedand money market investments to help70%maintain stability.EquityFixed-IncomeMoney-MarketA Portfolio may invest its assets in mutual funds; have its assets managed in a separate account by OFI Private Investments Inc. for the benefit of theBright Start Trust; or a combination of the two. Each underlying investment has its own risks. For example, the prices of small-cap stocks are generallymore volatile than large company stocks. There are special risks inherent to international investing, including currency, political, social and economicrisks. Investments in growth stocks may be more volatile than other securities. With value investing, if the marketplace does not recognize that asecurity is undervalued, the expected price increase may not occur. Fixed income investing entails credit and interest rate risks. When interest ratesrise, bond prices generally fall, and the underlying fund’s or account’s value can fall. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss.For more details and associated risks, please see the Program Disclosure Statement.12

Choice-Based PortfoliosInvesting in any of the following portfolios means exercising more control over your account. Unlike the Age-BasedPortfolios, the asset allocation of the Choice-Based Portfolios remains constant. Choose the portfolio, or portfolios, thatare suitable for your goals and risk tolerance.Blended ex Strategy100%Portfolio ObjectiveSeeks long-term capital appreciation byinvesting all of its assets in equity investments.Seeks moderate growth by investing in a10%balanced asset allocation weighted between40%50%40%50%equity investments and fixed income andmoney market investments.Fixed-Income20%Seeks total return by investing primarily in20%investment-grade bonds and U.S. eks preservation of capital by investing allPortfolioof its assets in a money market mutual fund.100%EquityFixed-IncomeMoney-Market*You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at 1.00per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal DepositInsurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financialsupport to the Fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Fund at any time.13