Open a Bright Start 529 college savings account in just minutes

You can open a Bright Start 529 College Savings Plan account quickly and easily. Start their education savings now!

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So simple and easy

Open a Bright Start 529 account online or in the ReadySave 529™ app!

Account owner

(the person in charge of the account)

  • Name
  • Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)
  • Date of birth
  • Permanent U.S. address
  • Investment portfolio decision
  • Bank account routing number

Beneficiary

(the person you’re saving money for – the future student)

  • Name
  • Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)
  • Date of birth
  • Current address

Note: You can be the beneficiary of your own account.

Successor*

(the person who would take over the account in the event of the account owner’s death)

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Telephone number

529 fact:

An account can be opened by anyone (like a parent, grandparent or family friend), and the account ownership can be transferred to another individual or entity eligible by submitting the appropriate Plan form.

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Relevant FAQs

Anyone with a valid Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number can be the beneficiary, including the account owner. Learn more about who can open, benefit from and contribute to a Bright Start 529 account.

Beneficiaries can include your son or daughter, your grandchild, niece/nephew, cousin, family friend, etc.

There’s no cost associated with opening a Bright Start 529 account or owning more than one account. You could open a different account for each child. And each individual child could have multiple accounts owned by different account owners (e.g., Grandma opened an account for Billy, and Dad opened an account for Billy, so there can be two accounts with Billy as the beneficiary.)

You might do this to align investment strategies with the time frame each child will begin using the funds. For example, an older child’s account could be more conservatively invested to help protect your contributions as they near college, whereas a younger child’s account might be invested to balance growth and income strategies during a longer time frame.

Multiple accounts can also aid in estate planning by ensuring that college funds are allocated appropriately to each beneficiary upon the death of the account owner. But if you’d like to stick to one account, you can change beneficiaries at any time and at no additional cost.

There are no sales charges, startup fees or maintenance fees associated with Bright Start 529 accounts. For details on total annual asset-based fees, comprised of the underlying investment expenses for each investment portfolio and the plan manager fee, review the Plan Fee Table in the Plan Description.

Yes. Whether you have recently moved to the state, have an underperforming or higher-cost 529 plan or just want to simplify, consolidating 529 accounts into Bright Start 529 is easy. You can transfer funds from another 529 plan to your Bright Start 529 account for the same beneficiary once within a 12-month period without incurring tax penalties.

Consolidating education savings into Bright Start 529 also gives you a single view of your savings and performance as well as single-step payments to colleges, universities, etc.

You may also save money that can go right back into your college fund. Bright Start 529 expenses are among the lowest in the country and less than half the national average for 529 plans.1 You pay no sales charges, startup fees or maintenance fees.

The 529 plan from which you are transferring funds may be subject to different features, costs and surrender charges. As such, you should consult your tax advisor or the other 529 college savings plan prior to making any decisions. For more information, see how to manage an incoming rollover from another 529 saving plan account.

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