The Money Fit Show · Season 1, Episode 22
Using ABLE Accounts to Create Self-Reliance
ABLE accounts can give eligible people with disabilities and their families another way to save for disability-related expenses while protecting access to certain public benefits. Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth returns to The Money Fit Show to explain how these accounts work and why they can support greater financial independence.
ABLE accounts, savings, and greater financial independence
Play Season 1, Episode 22 directly through Spotify without leaving Money Fit.
ABLE accounts can help separate disability savings from ordinary benefit resource limits
Julie Ellsworth and Todd Christensen discuss ABLE accounts, tax-advantaged savings accounts authorized under Section 529A of the federal tax code for eligible people with disabilities.
The accounts are designed to help eligible individuals save and pay for qualified disability expenses while allowing certain account assets to receive special treatment when eligibility for public benefits is determined.
Families and other people can also contribute to an ABLE account, subject to current contribution rules. The account belongs to the beneficiary, giving the person with the disability a tool that can support greater choice, independence, and control over qualified expenses.
Topics covered in this episode
- The broader role of state treasurers and how state borrowing costs can affect public finances.
- How ABLE accounts can allow eligible people with disabilities to build savings beyond resource limits that might otherwise affect certain public benefits.
- Eligibility requirements for ABLE accounts and why the applicable age-of-disability rules should be checked using current guidance.
- The role of State Independent Living Councils in promoting choice, independence, and self-determination for people with disabilities.
- The potential value of helping people with disabilities build their own financial resources and independence.
- How family members, friends, and others may contribute to an eligible person's ABLE account within applicable contribution limits.
- How ABLE accounts are structured under Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code and share some similarities with 529 education savings accounts.
- Tax considerations surrounding contributions and why federal and state tax treatment should be checked under current rules.
Saving for disability-related expenses does not always have to mean choosing between savings and benefits
ABLE accounts were created in part to address a difficult financial problem: traditional resource limits can discourage people who rely on certain public benefits from building savings. For eligible individuals, an ABLE account can provide a dedicated way to save for qualified disability expenses while receiving special treatment under applicable benefit rules.
ABLE eligibility expanded after this episode was recorded
This conversation took place in 2021, when the age requirement was more restrictive. Beginning January 1, 2026, federal law expanded ABLE eligibility so a qualifying disability generally must have begun before age 46 rather than before age 26.
For people receiving Supplemental Security Income, up to $100,000 in an ABLE account is generally excluded from the SSI resource calculation. Amounts above $100,000 can affect SSI eligibility depending on the person's other countable resources. Other benefit programs can have different rules.
Idaho also now offers the Idaho ABLE Savings Plan through a partnership with STABLE Account. Consumers should use current official program information rather than relying solely on the rules discussed in this 2021 episode.
Official ABLE account information
These resources provide current information about ABLE eligibility, Idaho's program, qualified expenses, public-benefit treatment, and federal tax rules.
Julie Ellsworth
Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth returned to The Money Fit Show for a discussion focused on ABLE accounts and financial opportunities for people with disabilities.
The conversation examines how ABLE accounts can help eligible individuals and their families build savings, pay for qualified disability expenses, and pursue greater financial independence while navigating public-benefit resource rules.
