Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, Springfield, hired Ascensus College Savings as provider of Achieving a Better Life Experience plans for Illinois and 13 other states, said a spokesman for Illinois Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs.
Illinois was the state appointed to issue the RFP, which was released in June. The other states were Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Ascensus will implement an ABLE plan, a tax-free savings account for people with disabilities, in each state using common elements to achieve efficiency and economies of scale.
Plans will be modeled after 529 plans, with six investment risk asset allocation portfolios ranging from conservative to aggressive, the spokesman said.