2024 will be the seventh year of the Alabama ABLE (Achieving Better Life Experiences) Savings Plan. These accounts allow people with physical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities and their families to receive up to 10% of their state or federal benefits, including SSI, Medicaid, SNAP, housing assistance programs, etc., without jeopardizing their benefits. You can save up to 10,000 dollars. As of December 2023, 890 Alabama ABLE accounts have been opened with a total balance of $4,027,960.

“Until Alabama enacted the Alabama ABLE Savings Plan in 2017, people with disabilities in our state were limited to just $2,000 in savings accounts,” said Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer. Ta. “I now have more flexibility in saving for future expenses.”

Anyone can contribute up to $18,000 per year to an Alabama ABLE account, including the account owner, friends, family, organizations, nonprofits, and employers. Earnings on these accounts are not taxed as long as the funds are used for qualified disability expenses (QDE) such as health/wellness, housing, education, employment training, assistive technology, and transportation.

Alabama ABLE to Work is a provision within Alabama ABLE that allows certain individuals to contribute more than the annual limit. The lifetime balance limit for the Alabama ABLE Savings Plan is $475,000.

For Alabama taxpayers, a deduction of up to $5,000 per taxpayer per year is allowed for contributions to Alabama ABLE accounts.

“We encourage contributions to personal accounts,” said Anita Kelly, Alabama Able Savings Director. “As we have seen over the past seven years, the Alabama ABLE Savings Plan goes a long way in helping people with disabilities improve and maintain their health, independence, and quality of life.”

Eligible individuals for this program must have a physical or developmental disability that occurred before the age of 26 and are eligible to receive benefits based on a disability (such as SSI or SSDI), or have a physician-signed certificate of disability that declares Includes individuals who are eligible to receive benefits under. That they meet Social Security's definition of disability.

For more information about the Alabama ABLE Savings Plan, please visit the following website: https://www.AlabamaBull.gov/ or (833) 711-2253. Alabama ABLE is managed by the Bank of New York through Vestwell.https://www.bestwell.com/). Bestwell also manages more than 30 state savings programs.