CollegeIllinois current payment
Your column today about College Illinois struck home. I have 2 kids, starting college in 2020 and 2022. I’ve paid for a full semester each and have a payment plan for four more semesters each Is it a good idea to keep paying in? Could we lose the full amount? I thought we would at least get back what we paid in - like a forced savings plan. At best we’d have 5 semesters for each kid prepaid. This was to be a superior vehicle to save for the kids’ college.
Terry Says
I understand your horror at this situation. I have spoken several times with executives at CollegeIllinois. They promise they are "working with legislators" to resolve this problem -- but the law saw there is only a "moral" obligation to pay promised benefits! They also note that they have money to pay out through 2024 -- but there is no guarantee they will do that. Instead, like many states, they may choose to resolve the issue by making partial payments as a "return of capital." They are promising to make payments on contracts to students currently IN college. No one knows how this situation will resolve itself and you cannot and should not make additional payments. Their website says the program is CLOSED and not accepting any more money. Start saving elseqhere -- in a standard 529 college Savings Plan. Bright Start Savings gives you a small deduction on your state income taxes for your contributions. It offers no guarantees about what the account will be worth when your child attends college; that depends on the investment performance.
