ABLE MATCH Act Seeks to Boost Enrollment in ABLE Accounts

Coinciding with the 33rd anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) becoming federal law, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has announced a new bill that seeks to make it easier for people in the disability community who are living with limited resources to open an ABLE savings account.

Sen. Casey served as the lead sponsor of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which Congress passed in 2014. ABLE accounts allow people with disabilities to save money, tax-free, beyond the $2,000 asset limit without jeopardizing their federal disability benefits. With an ABLE account, an individual living with a disability can save up to $100,000, tax-free.

As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, Sen. Casey is now introducing the ABLE MATCH (Making ABLE A Tool to Combat Hardship) Act. This legislation specifically targets low-income Americans with disabilities, proposing a federal dollar-for-dollar match for up to $2,000 for new and existing ABLE accounts opened by those who make $28,000 or less per year.

“There are still too many people whose lives would be made easier by the program, but don’t have sufficient funds to open an account,” Sen. Casey stated in a news release. “The ABLE MATCH Act will make it easier for low-income people with disabilities to access the ABLE program, and get the benefits they need and deserve.”

Recipients of SSI or SSDI who acquired their disability prior to age 26 are eligible to start an ABLE account. Thanks to Sen. Casey’s ABLE Age Adjustment Act, passed in late 2022, that age of eligibility will expand. Starting in 2026, individuals for whom the onset of their disability occurred before age 46 will be permitted to establish these types of savings accounts. It is estimated that another 6 million people across the disability community will benefit from this change.