I just found out about ABLE Accounts. Tax advantaged investment/savings account for disabled individuals. They work kinda like 529s in that they are tax deferred growth, state sponsored, and to be used for a specific type of expense.
I know that some disable recipients of SSI are resource tested- and if they have more than $2,000 to their name, they will not receive their SSI benefit. This is an insanely low threshold. Basically if you want to keep getting your SSI, you've got to be nearly living SSI check to SSI check. The ABLE accounts allow individuals to save a little bit more- you can have up to $100K in an ABLE account and still receive SSI benefits. (Yes, $100K is still sadly low, but it is 50x better than $2K!). Contribution max is $14,000/year, and total lifetime limit for contributions is set by the sponsoring state. Seems to be around $300K for the few states that currently offer ABLE accounts.
So far, Nebraska, Omaha, and Tennessee are the only states that accept enrollment from residents nationwide. Maryland may be next in line. I think Florida offers ABLE, but only to FL residents. The legislation allowing ABLE accounts is relatively new (2014-2015). Hopefully other states will follow suit and start sponsoring plans.
Does anyone have any experience with these types of accounts? Know which ones of the existing plans are the best? Does your state allow deductions for contributions to this type of plan?
I was thrilled to find out about this today. I am close to someone that was permanently physically disabled as a teen, and he could really benefit from an ABLE account. (I think the disability has to occur before age 26 to be eligible.)
More info at:
http://www.ablenrc.org/