This December will mark five years since the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which started to allow disabled people to create tax-free savings accounts (“ABLE Accounts”). Over the past five years, ABLE Accounts have helped over 50,000 people with disabilities save money and pay for things like housing, transportation, and healthcare costs without jeopardizing their access to Medicaid home and community based services (HCBS) and other needed supports. Learn more about ABLE accounts at www.ablenrc.org.
Unfortunately, millions of people don’t have access to ABLE Accounts, because a person is only eligible if they acquired their disability before the age of 26. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S. 651 / H.R. 1814) has the potential to change that. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act would dramatically expand eligibility for ABLE Accounts by allowing people who acquired their disability before the age of 46 to become eligible. If the ABLE Age Adjustment Act is passed into law, approximately six million more disabled people will be eligible for an ABLE Account!
Take Action Now!
Today, Thursday, November 14, there is a National Call-In Day for the ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
- RSVP, Share, and Participate in today’s National Call-In Day! Find more information, including sample talking points, at the Facebook event. RSVP and share widely!
- Boost the event on social media! Use the handle #ABLEAgeNow
- Call your Representative and Senators! Tell them to support the ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S. 651 / H.R. 1814) and pass it immediately! Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). You can find your Senators’ direct phone number and contact form at senate.gov and your Representative’s direct number and contact form at house.gov/representatives.
I was born with a genetic pre disposition to Rheumatoid Arthritis. My mother and grand mother had it. I started at 15 but was not fully disabled until I was in my forties and was wheelchair bound in my fifties. I was a homemaker and wife and mother and did not work outside the home. I rely on the Social Security record of my late husband which pays me so little I can barely survive. There is nothing left after bills to be saved. The poverty that comes with disability should be addressed.