Ten Things You Must Know About ABLE Accounts - YouTube

I am Michael Morris, the executive director of National Disability Institute.

Today marks a historic day in our country's understanding and support of people

with disabilities and their families.

On this past Tuesday night, December 16th, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014, or ABLE Act,

was passed by an overwhelming majority in the U.S. Senate

after passing in the House earlier this month.

This is important because, for the very first time in our country's policy on disability,

the ABLE Act recognizes that there are added costs to living with a disability.

The ABLE Act responds to these significant daily and weekly out-of-pocket expenses by creating,

for the first time, a tax advantaged savings account (an ABLE account).

In recognition of this unprecedented legislation, NDI has created a list of 10 items

about ABLE accounts that individuals with disabilities

and their families should know: What is an ABLE account?

ABLE Accounts, which are tax advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities

and their families, will be created as a result of the passage of the ABLE Act of 2014.

Income earned by the accounts would not be taxed.

Contributions to the account made by any person (the account beneficiary,

family and friends) would not be tax deductible.

Why the need for ABLE accounts?

Millions of individuals with disabilities and their families depend on a wide variety

of public benefits for income, health care and food and housing assistance.

Eligibility for these public benefits (SSI, SNAP, Medicaid) require individuals

to report more than $2,000 in cash savings, retirement funds

and other items of significant value.

To remain eligible for these public benefits, an individual must remain poor.

For the first time, eligible individuals and families will be allowed

to establish ABLE savings accounts that will not affect their eligibility for SSI,

Medicaid and other public benefits.

Am I eligible for an ABLE account?

The final version of the ABLE Act limits eligibility to individuals

with significant disabilities with an age of onset

of disability before turning 26 years of age.

If you meet this criteria and are also receiving benefits already under SSI and/or SSDI,

you are automatically eligible to establish an ABLE account.

If you are not a recipient of SSI and/or SSDI, but still meet the age

of onset disability requirement, you would still be eligible to open an ABLE account

if you meet SSI criteria regarding significant functional limitations.

The regulations to be written in 2015 by the Treasury Department will have

to explain further the standard of proof and required medical documentation.

You need not be under the age of 26 to be eligible for an ABLE account.

You could be over the age of 26, but must have the documentation of disability

that indicates age of onset before the age of 26.

Are there limits to how much money can be put in an ABLE account?

The total annual contributions by all participating individuals, including family

and friends, is $14,000, an amount which will be adjusted annually for inflation.

Under current tax law, $14,000 is the maximum amount that individuals can make as a gift

to someone else and not pay taxes.

The total limit over time that could be made to an ABLE account will be subject

to the individual state and their limit for education-related 529 savings accounts.

Many states have set this limit at more than $300,000 per plan.

However, for individuals with disabilities who are recipients of SSI and Medicaid,

the ABLE Act sets some further limitations.

The first $100,000 in ABLE accounts would be exempted

from the SSI $2,000 individual resource limit.

If and when an ABLE account exceeds $100,000, the beneficiary would be suspended

from eligibility for SSI benefits and no longer receive that monthly income.

However, the beneficiary would continue to be eligible for Medicaid.

Which expenses are allowed by ABLE accounts?

A "qualified disability expense" means any expense related to the designated beneficiary

as a result of living a life with disabilities.

These include education, housing, transportation, employment training and support,

assistive technology, personal support services, health care expenses, financial management

and administrative services and other expenses which will be further described in regulations

to be developed in 2015 by the Treasury Department.

Where do I go to open an ABLE account?

Each state is responsible for establishing and operating an ABLE program.

If a state should choose not to establish its own program, it may contract with another state

to still offer its eligible individuals

with significant disabilities the opportunity to open an ABLE account.

After President Obama signs the ABLE Act, the Secretary of the Department

of Treasury will begin to develop regulations that will guide the states in terms

of a) the information required to be presented to open an ABLE account;

b) the documentation needed to meet the requirements of ABLE account eligibility

for a person with a disability; and c) the definition details

of "qualified disability expenses" and the documentation

that will be needed for tax reporting.

No accounts can be established

until the regulations are finalized following a public comment period

on proposed rules for program implementation.

States will begin to accept applications to establish ABLE accounts before the end of 2015.

Can I have more than one ABLE account?

No. The ABLE Act limits the opportunity

to one ABLE account per eligible individual with significant disabilities.

Will states offer options to invest the savings contributed to an ABLE account?

Like state 529 college savings plans, states are likely to offer qualified individuals

and families multiple options to establish ABLE accounts with varied investment strategies.

Each individual and family will need to project possible future needs and costs over time,

and to assess their risk tolerance for possible future investment strategies

to grow their savings.

Account contributors or designated beneficiaries are limited, by the ABLE Act,

to change the way their money is invested in the account up to two times per year.

How many eligible individuals and families might benefit from establishing an ABLE account?

There are 58 million individuals with disabilities in the United States.

To meet the definition of significant disability required by the legislation to be eligible

to establish an ABLE account, the conservative number would be approximately 10 percent

of the larger group, or 5.8 million individuals and families.

Further analysis is needed to understand more fully the size of this market and more

about their needs for new savings and investment products.

How is an ABLE account different than a special needs or pooled trust?

An ABLE Account will provide more choice and control for the beneficiary and family.

Cost of establishing an account will be considerably less

than either a Special Needs Trust (SNT) or Pooled Income Trust.

With an ABLE account, account owners will have the ability to control their funds and,

if circumstances change, still have other options available to them.

Determining which option is the most appropriate will depend upon individual circumstances.

For many families, the ABLE account will be a significant and viable option in addition to,

rather than instead of, a Trust program.

For more information about the ABLE Act and what it might mean to you and your family,

please visit with us at the website of National Disability Institute.

You can find us at www dot realeconomicimpact dot org.