Figuring the Trip Budget: ABLE Accounts (A Piece of Cake to Set Up)
Back when Andy was little, it was drilled into us that we should never have assets in name … never, ever, never. Because if we did, he wouldn’t be able to receive necessary supports, such as healthcare benefits through Medicaid—which are often vital to people with disabilities. This put families and individuals with disabilities in a terrible position of forced poverty to keep essential benefits like healthcare.
But the ABLE Act in 2014 significantly changed that. Since 2014, qualifying people with disabilities can have money in their name through designated ABLE accounts and also keep Medicaid, SSI, and other benefits they need to live full and healthy lives.
If you haven’t yet set up an ABLE account, they are incredibly easy to do. I didn’t believe a mom when she said it would take less than 15 minutes, but she was right. I set up our ABLE account during my snack break with STABLE account. You don’t have to submit a bunch of paperwork–just a short online form with electronic transfer information.
The STABLE account program we use is run by the state of Ohio, but it’s available to anyone in the US. Partner States also receive reduced rates for fees, including Kentucky, Vermont, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, West Virginia, Wyoming, Arizona and Oklahoma. For example, I live in Georgia and work in Kentucky, and we use this program.
These accounts are completely online, so you make contributions electronically and usually get a debit card to use for qualifying expenses–which include most normal life stuff. Your son or daughter can also use money from his or her ABLE account to pay for things like job training, transportation, housing, health care costs, assistive technology, legal fees, and anything else that improves quality of life for a person with a disability. The accounts are free to set up, but you have to start with a deposit and pay some small fees.
These accounts truly are wonderful when you go in to apply for SSI because your son or daughter can have more than $2,000 in the ABLE account and still qualify for Medicaid and SSI. This means they can save their birthday gift money and graduation money and money from a job, and you can help them save for a college program or a home without worrying about losing benefits.
When we went in to apply for SSI, we had accumulated a modest amount in Andy’s ABLE account (a little above the normal $2000 SSI limit and far, far below the $100,000 limit). Our intake worker completely understood that this money wasn’t counted toward assets that would disqualify Andy for SSI. And if you have an SSI intake worker who doesn’t know about ABLE accounts yet, you can point them to this ABLE account page on the Social Security Administration website.
There are so many benefits to opening these accounts, so take the 10 minutes to set one up as soon as you can! It’s a piece of cake!
Learn more about ABLE accounts from the ABLE National Resource Center.
Important points to know about ABLE accounts:
- The total annual limit of all contributions to your son or daughter’s ABLE account is $15,000 per year, which includes all contributions from family, friends, and the individual themselves.
- SSI cash benefits can be suspended if the ABLE account surpasses $100,000, but they can be reinstated if the account drops back below that amount.
- You also don’t want to save too much without spending because any money left at the end of a person’s life will be returned to the government.
- There are many states that offer national programs, so people are not limited to their own state’s program. Also, for states that do not have programs, a person can open an account with a national program, e.g., Ohio and Virginia. However, the fees and requirements can be a bit different for different states, so check that out.
- Some states also offer tax deductions for contributions to ABLE accounts in their state ABLE programs. This is a factor you should consider when deciding which ABLE program is right for you.
I set up my daughter’s ABLE for All account online. It took less than 10 minutes. I had tried to wait to CalABLE (our home state’s program) to be up and running, but the roadblocks and delays for that program made me choose Oregon’s plan for now.
I set up our daughter’s sixth birthday celebration gifting page on ABLE. She doesn’t need more toys, clothes, or art supplies. She has all that. She needs a future. She and we are now in the process of saving for her future. If we make this an option each year until adulthood, she might actually have a bit of a nest egg. I had hoped for a couple hundred dollars by the end of the birthday celebration. We are grateful that we’ve surpassed out expectations. Our family and friends seem to get it. We are lucky and grateful.
A huge thank you to all of the amazing advocates who made ABLE happen! When our daughter was born, six short years ago, the first words our social worker said to us were a warning about assets and means-testing. Hopefully, social workers around the country are now getting this information so that they can just say “Congratulations” instead.
My daughter Rachel worked alongside me for eight years to help pass the ABLE Act. She testified before the Kansas legislature in support of establishing the KS ABLE Savings Plan. Then, on January 26, 2017 she became the first Kansas to open a KS ABLE Savings Account. It took us only 10 – 15 minutes to do it online. Very easy. We get quarterly updates on her account. She recently graduated high school and we requested graduation gifts be given directly to her ABLE account. Many people did this online and said it took about a minute. Others mailed checks. We were notified of contributions which has been awesome. Rachel wants to use her money to help pay for college and to be independent. Her mantra when we were advocating was that she wanted to live in a pink house. Recently, she was selected by the ABLE National Resource Center as one of their National ABLE Advisors. This is a link to that information.
http://ablenrc.org/able-advisors-2
The ABLE National Resource Center is an outstanding resource to help individuals learn about their options for opening accounts. They have webinars, a map where you can click to learn about your state, an awesome Road Map to Enrollment. All are very helpful.