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, but these individuals are ineligible for benefits if they have more than $2,000 cash savings and retirement funds. However, the ABLE Act recognizes the significant costs of disability, including raising a child with significant disabilities, and the costs of accessible housing and transportation, personal assistance services, and assistive technology. Furthermore, many caregivers worry about providing for the future of their children with disabilities.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act (H.R. 647), a bipartisan bill passed on December 19, 2014, amends the federal tax code to allow Section 529 tax-exempt savings accounts for disability-related expenses. This allows earnings to grow tax deferred and account owners the ability to withdraw earnings to use toward qualified disability expenses. Account contributions are limited to $15,000 per year; however, beneficiaries who are employed can potentially have a higher yearly contribution limit of up to $27,060 due to the newly passed ABLE to Work Act. Assets in your account do not affect eligibility for federal or Arizona means-tested benefits programs like SSI or Medicaid. ABLE Accounts are structurally like 529 accounts, in terms of tax advantages, online use, and investment options, but they have the transactional capabilities of a checking account and the benefits protections of a Special Needs Trust.