Last year, we highlighted a new provision offered to families with disabled children called ABLE accounts. ABLE accounts (which stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience) are intended to create tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. The goal of these accounts is to ease the financial strains faced by individuals with disabilities and their families. These accounts supplement, rather than replace, the benefits someone may already be receiving, such as through private insurance, Medicaid, or other sources.
Now, Indiana has received the state funding to implement and create this program under the name INvestABLE. The new INvestABLE program helps disabled individuals to save money while preserving their government-assisted benefits like SSI and Medicaid. The earnings on your investments are federally tax-deferred and tax-free if used for qualified disability expenses.
Qualified disability expenses include any expense incurred as a result of living with a disability and that is intended to improve your quality of life. This would include things such as education, health and wellness, housing, transportation, legal fees, financial management, employment training and support, adaptive technology, personal support services, oversight and monitoring, and funeral and burial expenses.
Previously, individuals were required to keep their resources under $2,000 to qualify for SSI and Medicaid. With the ABLE accounts, an individual can save up to $14,000 per year and up to $100,000 total in the account. Balances of $100,000 or less are excluded from your SSI resource limit. Only the amount over $100,000 is counted against your limit.
You can open an ABLE account quickly and easily here. Just tell them a little bit about yourself and select your investments. That’s it. You can easily access your account at any time, from a PC, tablet, or mobile device. Plus, you can get started with as little as $25.
In celebration of this new program, the Indiana Treasurer of State and the Indiana ABLE Authority will be hosting a launch event in Fort Wayne at the Turnstone Center on August 30.