College Illinois! PROGRAM FACTS AND STATS

Program:

• Plan Name: College Illinois!
• Type of Plan: Section 529 Prepaid Tuition Program
• Year Created/Launched: 1997/1998
• Administrator: Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)
• State Backing? 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 College Illinois! contributions (up to $10,000 per year; $20,000 for married couples) 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 57,000 prepaid tuition contracts
• Purchased Contracts Equivalent: 179,890 years of college
• Purchaser Dollars Committed: Over $1.2 billion
• Assets Invested to Date: Approximately $1 billion
• Typical Purchaser:
  85 percent - parents
  10 percent - grandparents
  5 percent - other (friends, extended family, etc.)
• 20-Year Average Increase in Tuition and Fees
  (Illinois Institutions; 1987-2007):
  8.2 percent (public universities)
  5.8 percent (community colleges)
• 2007-08 General Enrollment: Oct. 29, 2007 through April 29, 2008
• 2007-08 Newborn Enrollment: Infants under 12 months through
  Aug. 1, 2008
• Web Site:
  collegeillinois.com
  
• Consumer Questions: 1-877-877-3724 (toll-free)
• Media Contact/Interview Requests:
  Susan Wirth
  (262) 789-7630, ext. 134
  susanw@celticinc.com

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.
  
• 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.