FACTS AND STATS

Program:

• Plan Name: College Illinois!^® 529 Prepaid Tuition Program
• Type of Plan: Section 529 Prepaid Tuition Program
• Year Created/Launched: 1997/1998
• Administrator: Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)
  
• State Program? Yes
• Eligibility to Participate: Open to all Illinois residents and non-Illinois residents purchasing for Illinois-resident beneficiaries.
• Ownership: Purchaser owns plan.
• State/Federal Tax Implications: As a Section 529 plan, College Illinois! earnings are 100 percent exempt from state and federal income taxes.
  The plan also allows gift and estate tax benefits. Illinois taxpayers can deduct contributions (up to $10,000 per year; $20,000 for married couples filing jointly) from their state taxable income.
• Financial Aid Implications: There is minimal impact for participants when it comes to financial aid. A federal law now stipulates that prepaid tuition plans be reported as parental assets on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Contracts Purchased to Date: More than 27,000 families have purchased more than 66,000 prepaid tuition contracts
• Purchased Contracts Equivalent: 200,701 years of college
• Purchaser Dollars Committed: Over $1.6 billion
• Assets Invested to Date: Approximately $1 billion
• Typical Purchaser:
  88 percent - parents
  9 percent - grandparents
  3 percent - other (friends, extended family, etc.)
• 20-Year Average Increase in Tuition and Fees
  (Illinois Institutions; 1989-2009):
  7.8 percent (public universities)
  6.0 percent (community colleges)
• Enrollment: Opens November 1, 2009
• Web Site: www.529prepaidtuition.org
  
• Consumer Questions: 1-877-877-3724 (toll-free)
• Media Contact/Interview Requests:
  
  Paul Palian
  Phone: (312) 814-3679
  ppalian@isac.org
  
  Lisa Encarnacion
  Phone: (312) 814-2224
  lencarnacion@isac.org

Benefits:

• Benefits: Tuition and mandatory fees at in-state, out-of-state, public and private educational institutions.
• Benefit Value (Illinois Public Institutions): 100 percent of in-state tuition and mandatory fees.
• Benefit Value (Other Institutions):Benefits are equal to the mean-weighted average of tuition and mandatory fees at in-state, public institutions, dependent on plan.
  
• How Benefits are Used:
  When a beneficiary is ready to go to school, he/she receives benefits that keep pace with tuition and fee increases at in-state public schools.
• Flexibility:
  Plan changes can be made at any time prior to using benefits, including change of beneficiary, method of payment or number of semesters covered.
• Cancellation/Refund Policy: The program can be cancelled at any time (cancellation fees apply). If a contract is cancelled after three years, 2 percent annual interest or current program value is received based on reason for refund.