Overview
- A federal change effective this year raises the ABLE age-of-onset cutoff from before 26 to before 46, adding about 6 million eligible people nationwide.
- Treasurer Michael Frerichs said the update makes roughly 250,000 additional Illinoisans eligible and announced the rollout at a Chicago news conference.
- ABLE accounts allow tax-free saving and investing for disability-related expenses such as housing, transportation, assistive technology, education, or funeral costs.
- Up to $100,000 in an ABLE account does not affect Supplemental Security Income, and funds are disregarded for Medicaid asset limits under program rules.
- Friends and family can contribute, Illinois offers a state income tax deduction for contributions, and enrollment information is available at illinoisable.com; the state reports about 8,500 current accounts with $121 million saved.