ABLE Account Decision Guide Series

ABLE Accounts and Working People with Disabilities

ABLE Accounts and Public Benefits for Working People

Although we focus on frequently accessed public benefits – including SSI, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Social Security Retirement Insurance benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, American Job Center and Employment Network services – there are many other public benefits or combinations of benefits that a working individual with a disability might receive, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, HUD subsidized housing programs and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For public benefits not covered here, we urge reaching out to a work incentive planning assistance (WIPA) project which employs Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) or other benefits counselors for information on how working and the use of an ABLE account will affect other benefits. https://choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp/

SSI is a means-tested payment for people with disabilities with limited income and resources. Often, a person receives a combination of SSI and some other income such as Social Security Disability Insurance payments, retirement benefits or wages. See VR Toolkit for SSI Youth: Module #3 – How Income and Resources Impact SSI Eligibility and Payment Amount, https://ssiyouthtoolkit.org/topic/3/home. Each benefit is discussed separately

→Yes, go to the section below, SSI and ABLE Accounts for a Person Who Works.

→No, SSI is not currently a relevant issue.

References to SSDI include Disability Insurance Benefits, based on the earnings record of the person receiving benefits; Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), based on the earnings record of a parent who is disabled, retired or deceased; and Disabled Widow’s or Widower’s Benefits (DWB), based on the earnings record of a deceased spouse. SSDI is not a means-tested benefit.

→Yes, go to the section below, SSDI and ABLE Accounts for the Working Person.

→No, SSDI is not currently a relevant issue.

Medicaid, a publicly-funded health insurance benefit, is implemented at the state level by either a government agency or a private managed care organization.

→Yes, go to the section below, Medicaid and ABLE Accounts for the Working Person.

→No, Medicaid is not currently a relevant issue.

Social Security Retirement Benefits are part of almost every person’s financial future and are available to qualified individuals who have worked or meet other entitlement factors. This benefit is not means-tested. To learn more, visit: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/learn.html#h1.

→Yes, go to the section below, RIB and ABLE Accounts for the Working Person.

→No, RIB is not currently a relevant issue.

Medicare, a federally-funded health insurance benefit, is available to SSDI beneficiaries after a 24-month waiting period. SSDI beneficiaries with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) do not have a 24-month waiting period. Most Americans become eligible for Medicare at age 65, with or without eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits. See Medicare Benefits, https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/.

→Yes, go to the section below, Medicare and ABLE Accounts for a Person Who is Working.

→No, Medicare is not currently a relevant issue.

Each state has a federally supported state VR agency, with some states having a second agency serving only individuals who are blind.

→Yes, go to the section below, ABLE Accounts for the Working Individual.

→No, State VR agency support is not currently a ABLE  relevant issue.

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Note: Our ABLE Decision Guide Series is designed as an aid to decision making as it relates to establishing and using an ABLE account. This document does not cover every possible issue related to the topic and is not a substitute to more in-depth analysis that may be required in some cases.