386 / What is the ABLE Act? Who is eligible for an ABLE account?
Under the previously existing rules, disabled individuals were often discouraged from accumulating assets to meet future expenses because, absent the use of certain trust vehicles, the individual would be disqualified from receiving Social Security and Medicaid benefits if accumulated assets were worth more than $2,000.
The ABLE Act modifies these rules to allow individuals to accumulate up to $100,000 in savings accounts called “ABLE accounts” without becoming disqualified from receiving Social Security benefits (above and beyond the traditional $2,000 resource limit, so that a total of $102,000 can be accumulated without risk of disqualification). Medicaid benefits will not be impacted regardless of how much the individual deposits into the ABLE account.2
In order to qualify as an ABLE account beneficiary, the individual must have been diagnosed with a disability that causes severe limitations before that individual reaches age 26. Beginning in 2026, this age will increase to age 46 under the SECURE Act 2.0. Individuals who are currently receiving Social Security disability benefits also qualify. Regardless, eligibility for Social Security benefits is not a requirement for establishing an ABLE account—a severe, diagnosed disability is sufficient.3