by Eric Ochmanek
From the Editor: Eric is involved in the ABLE program as a part of his duties with the National Association of State Treasurers. This program is a way for people who normally function under very restrictive savings limits to use an account for purposes that will enhance their lives. Eric has been to our national convention before and looks forward to being with us in Houston in 2023. Here is what he has to say:
Carol Akers thought it was too good to be true. She had listened to five presentations about ABLE accounts before she finally approached me. For many years, she thought her son Dusty, who is blind and has other disabilities that require support services, couldn’t save money beyond Medicaid’s $2,000 annual asset limit, preventing her from planning for Dusty’s financial future.
“I’ve been to five presentations about this, and I wanted to confirm each ABLE presenter said the same thing and answered my questions the same way,” Akers told me.
Carol’s concerns were very real. She didn’t want anything to cause problems for Dusty’s disability benefits. Fortunately, ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts can help relieve concerns about the future, not increase them.
Earlier this year, the National Association of State Treasurers (www.nast.org) (NAST) launched ABLE Today, a national initiative focused on increasing the awareness of ABLE accounts. Our mission is to ensure more and more people with disabilities (and their family and caregivers like Carol) know about ABLE and the life-changing effects it can have for their financial futures.
ABLE Today is focused on assisting people with disabilities by promoting ABLE and providing information on these accounts. I assured Carol that these accounts not only existed, but that they had been available since 2016. These are savings and investment tools, built specifically for people with disabilities, allowing them to save money without affecting public benefits eligibility. At ABLE Today, we are available to present and answer questions about ABLE to your local community or chapter. ABLE empowers account holders to invest in their long-term financial security, creating opportunities for greater empowerment and inclusion for them in their communities.
Through an ABLE account, enrollees can change the way they save, invest, and plan for their future by having the options to:
Carol set up an ABLE account for Dusty, and the money they’ve put into it can be used for anything that relates to his disability and helps maintain or improve his health, independence, and quality of life. This can include housing and rent, basic living expenses like groceries and utilities, transportation, education tuition, legal or financial management fees, and costs towards Dusty’s supportive assistive technologies and medical care. Through an ABLE account, Carol and Dusty can plan and save for all of this without sacrificing his federal benefits.
Setting up an account is simple and straightforward. Forty-six states plus the District of Columbia have ABLE programs in place, and many of these states allow for those outside of the state to enroll if your state isn’t one of those forty-six. You can open an account in person, online, through a paper application, and for one state you can enroll at a bank branch. Once your account is set up, you can access your ABLE account funds through debit cards, checkbooks, third party checks, or bank transfers.
Every person with a disability deserves to know about ABLE. We work with organizations like the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to educate their members about the transformative power of ABLE accounts, and connect them to this impactful resource. The biggest challenge is making people aware of this opportunity.
Carol Akers is an incredible caregiver for her son. She wasn’t alone when it came to being unaware of ABLE and what it could do for her son’s future. As of mid-2022, only 126,000 people with disabilities are ABLE account holders. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately eight million Americans who qualify and are missing out on this transformative resource and financial planning tool designed specifically for them.
The message is simple—you can work, save, live, and plan for your financial future with ABLE—so please visit https://www.abletoday.org/, and learn how to accelerate your financial future. And make sure to share it with your friends and family.