Title: 05.11.23.130PM.SignNexus.NationalDisabilityInstitute.NewYorkABLEProgram
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National Disability Institute
ABLE National Resource Center
ABLE Program Spotlight: New York ABLE Program
Thursday
May 11, 2023
1:30 PM‑3:00 PM EST
	
	[Captioner standing by] 
	
	[Recording in Progress] 
	
	[Captioner standing by] 
	
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Hello, everyone! I hope you are all having a great Thursday and I thank you for joining us today for The ABLE National Resource Center ABLE Program Spotlight on the New York ABLE Program. 
	The ABLE National Resource Center is funded through grants through Prudential and Wells Fargo and we thank you for them their support. 
	Before we get started, there's some housekeeping, as there often is. I'm going to hand things over to my colleague, Cheyenne Rivers, who is the Project Coordinator to walk us through some of those logistics. 
	>> CHEYENNE RIVERS: Hello, everyone. 
	Listening to the webinar. The audio for today's meeting can be accessed by using Computer Audio or by calling in by phone. If you select "Computer Audio", please make sure your speaker are turned on or your headphones are plugged in. 
	If you do not have sound capabilities on your computer or prefer to listen by phone, dial: 1‑929‑205‑6099. The webinar ID is: 880 5352 2076. 
	Captioning. Realtime captioning is provided during this webinar. 
	The captions can be found by clicking on the closed captions icon in your Zoom controls at the bottom of the screen. 
	If you do not see the captions after clicking the button, please alert the host, that's me, Cheyenne, via the chat box. 
	Submitting questions. If your questions does not get answered during the presentation or in the Q&A, you can submit it in the post‑event survey or e‑mail it to info@ablenrc.org. 
	You can use the Q&A box to submit questions during the webinar. Please do not use the chat box. 
	We invite you to explore The ABLE National Resource Center website for answers to your questions and additional information within our On‑Demand Webinars, resources, and newsletters at ablenrc.org. 
	Technical assistance. If you experience technical difficulties, please use the chat box to send a message to the NDI Host, or you may e‑mail: Info@ablenrc.org, Subject Line: Webinar Help. 
	Please note, this webinar is being recorded and the materials will be placed on The ABLE National Resource Center website, along with all other ABLE webinars. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And with that, I think I'll take over from here. Thank you so much, Cheyenne, for covering that information. 
	I'm happy to be here with you, everyone. My name is Miranda Kennedy and I'm the Director of the ABLE National Resource Center. 
	So I want to tell you what we're going to be talking about here today. So this is an overview of what you're going to be doing and what we're going to be doing together over the next hour. 
	First, I'm going to briefly go over some ABLE National Resource Center resources, as well as talk about our ABLE Spotlight Series, which is what we're here to do today. 
	When we get to the actual spotlight itself, we're going to be hearing from Jenna McClosky, who is the Outreach Director for the New York ABLE Program and she'll be presenting on their New York ABLE presentation, which will cover how to save for disability‑related expenses. 
	She'll also be providing a review of the plan investment options that grow tax‑free when they are used for Qualified Disability Expenses and talk about that. She will also be sharing information about how ABLE Accounts can help to maintain eligibility for SSI, Medicaid, and other Federal needs‑based programs. 
	And we also hope to be able to offer some time to answer some of your questions. 
	So with that, let me tell you about The ABLE National Resource Center. For those of you who may be joining us for the first time, The ABLE National Resource Center, or ABLE NRC, is the leading comprehensive source of objective, independent information about Federal‑ and State‑related ABLE Programs and activities. And that includes guidance on tax‑advantaged ABLE savings accounts. 
	We really are a Resource Center. [Laughter] It is our mission here to educate, promote, and support the positive impact that ABLE can make on the lives of millions of Americans with Disabilities and their families. And we're so happy to do that, along with all of our partners, our ABLE supporters. 
	We ‑‑ you can find our information at ablenrc.org. That is our comprehensive website, which Cheyenne had mentioned earlier. We have a wealth of resources there. In fact, I'm going to tell you just about a few of them here. 
	So when you check out our Center's website, you can find information such as: 
	Our ABLE Frequently Asked Questions. 
	You can find stories and strategies and outcomes that are being experienced from ABLE Account Owners, as well as their family members and really hear their voices and their experience, which is really important. 
	We also have #ABLEtoSave podcasts. 
	We have webinars, such as the one today, as well as upcoming webinars, and a lot of webinars that are available On‑Demand because there's a lot of different aspects of ABLE. 
	We are covering the spotlight today on Disabled Program, but there's a lot of ABLE 101 or ABLE for folks who might be working. Anyway, there's a lot of great resources there and I encourage you to check that out. 
	We also have other spotlights, Program Spotlights, and I'll talk about that in a minute so you can see others in addition to the one we are doing today. 
	We encourage you to sign up for our AchievABLE Newsletter and follow along. 
	We have ABLE state comparison tools. 
	A wealth of ABLE Toolkits. 
	And ABLE Decision Guides, which I'm going to talk about right here. 
	Today's webinar is going to be talking about a program spotlight on a specific ABLE Program and we offer a platform for that. I'll tell but that in a moment. 
	But you might not be getting all of your questions answered and that's not really the intent of today's presentation, where we are spotlighting a program and what the program offers. 
	There are a lot of basic questions people might have and we have worked with our Ambassadors who are account owners and family members to help develop a lot of Decision Guides for you that you can use. And these Decision Guides are step‑by‑step guides on key ABLE topics that ABLE owners and family members helped us identify. And they can provide multiple different pathways to an outcome based on what you are choosing. It's kind of a chose your own adventure. Where are you add?  What information are you interested in exploring more?  And you can do it at your pace and where your interests are. 
	Those guides are really designed to increase your ABLE understanding and assist you in effective decision‑making. 
	These are all hyperlinks and Cheyenne has posted the PowerPoint for you to access, but those Decision Guides cover: 
	Are you ABLE eligible?  
	How do you select and open an ABLE Account?  
	How do you understand ABLE Account savings and public benefits?  
	How do you manage an ABLE Account once you open it?  
	How do you find funds to open an ABLE Account?  There are lots of great strategies in there you might not have thought of. 
	People always ask: How do you determine if something is a Qualified Disability Expense and you can use your ABLE funds on that?  
	We also have great Decision Guides on ABLE Accounts and working people with disabilities. 
	And ready and able and work to save, how to get you ready and able to work and save. 
	And we also developed our latest Decision Guides with the Special Needs Alliance, which is a National Alliance of Special Needs Attorneys and together we developed our understanding ABLE Accounts and Special Needs Trust. 
	So today we are focusing on an ABLE Program, if you have these types of questions, I encourage you to check out these resources and others on our website. 
	We also have for you to check out, you can check out ABLE Account Owner and family members' stories and here are some hyperlinks to those. Those are fantastic. 
	But really what we are here to do today is introduce our Spotlight Series to you. If you are joining for the first time, let you know a little bit about what these spotlights do. 
	They are intended for those who have a basic understand of ABLE. If you don't, that's okay. You can check out those resources I just covered. 
	But what is it meant to do, we are featuring different ABLE Programs that are either part of multi‑state collaborations, or, individual State ABLE Programs that are able nationally, such as the one we are going to feature today. 
	And what these Spotlight Series do it just covers program details, as well as general guidance and best practices within that ABLE Program and that ABLE Account you might open up with that program. 
	And it's meant to provide an overview of saving and investing within an ABLE Account to help those who are current or potential prospective ABLE Account Owners better understand their options. 
	And I have a hyperlink here to other ABLE Program Spotlight Webinars that we have held and that's the link to those and you can access those On‑Demand. 
	A quick overview in terms of the State ABLE Programs that are out there. You see a map here, it's mostly green. It might get a little greener this year. The states that are in green are actually active ABLE Programs. They have an active ABLE Program. Many of them, the majority, do accept out of state residents. If you happen to be in a state that's not currently green, you can certainly open up a program with another state and that's an option for you. 
	And you can also compare them. You can go with your home state, there might be benefits to doing so in terms of legislation that has been passed at the state level, so we always encourage folks, check out your home state first, but you have options here which is fantastic and you should explore those options and learn them about, such as what we're going to be doing today. 
	So keeping in mind, if you are ABLE eligible, you can only open one ABLE Account, but you can do it any state that has an ABLE Program that accepts outside residents. And we have some great comparison tools on our website for you to check that out. 
	Also, a quick note, if you are interested in looking at this, we encourage you to use our resources on our website. If you Google Search the name of your state and an ABLE Program, frequently states that will accept you if you are outside of their state, you might get directed there. So our website, our resources will get you directly to the program you want to look further into. 
	And with all of that, I am now finally ready to hand things over to Jenna McClosky, who is the Outreach Coordinator for the New York ABLE Program, which is now open nationally. 
	Jenna, thank you so much for being here with us today. And I'm going to hand the floor over to you to tell people more about the New York ABLE Program. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Perfect. Thank you so much, Miranda. And thank you, everybody, for joining us today. Good afternoon or good morning, depending on where you are and when you are watching us. 
	So I'm going to go into a little bit of the background of ABLE Accounts today for anyone that might still be unfamiliar with the basics of ABLE, with the reason that it came about and all of that. And then we'll be getting into a lot of the details. 
	So the background for those who are not familiar, for individuals in this country who have disabilities and are receiving Federal benefits, specifically SSI, they are only allowed to have $2,000 in their own name at any given time before they are at risk of their benefits getting suspended. 
	So what we hear, the feedback we get is people are constantly spending their money down on things they might not want, things they might not need, and it's all intended to maintain their benefits because they rely on their benefits so much and they can't afford to have those suspended. 
	So that's where the Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act came in. It became law in 2014 and it authorized the creation of ABLE Programs by the individual states, like Miranda was just speaking about. 
	So when someone in this country opens up any ABLE Account, whether it's New York ABLE, or an ABLE Account in a different state, the money that gets put into that ABLE Account is not allowed to be counted as an asset against them by Federal benefit programs, like SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, HUD, SNAP, any of the Federal Programs you might be familiar with. 
	Currently there's over a 1.1 billion dollars invested nationwide. 
	In New York I think at this point we're over 2700 accounts and 27 million invested as of early May. 
	Our Act was signed into law in December 2015 and it was announced publicly by Comptroller DiNapoli in October 2017. Comptroller DiNapoli's Office is where we are run out of, we are run out of the Comptroller's Office and we run the College Saving Program as well. 
	We have a new website we would encourage anyone to visit if they are interested. We have enhanced features now such as an accessibility widget that will allow people to change the font size and cursor size and contrast, any of the things to make the website more accessible for them. And Spanish translation of all of our website and program materials. So hopefully that will really help make the program more accessible for more people. 
	Another big thing, we will be talking throughout the presentation about some changes that we have enacted in the last year. So one of the biggest is that last July our Governor signed legislation to remove the state residency requirement for New York ABLE. So that means you no longer have to be a New York State resident, you can be an individual with a disability anywhere in the country to qualify for New York ABLE. 
	Next slide, please. 
	Back one. Perfect. Thank you. 
	So big overview, which, again, Miranda pretty much went into already, but what New York ABLE is intended to do is to help individuals with disabilities and their families to save their for disability‑related expenses, earn income on their investments free from taxes as long as they are being used for Qualified Disability Expenses, and maintain their ability to benefit from SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and other Federal Programs. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So who is eligible for a New York ABLE Account?  At this time, if you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien with a disability that was present prior to the age of 26 then you would qualify. 
	So you need to, in addition to that, to kind of show that you are an individual with a disability, you would need to meet one of the following criteria. It does not have to be all of them. If you meet one, then you qualify. 
	So if you are entitled to SSI or SSDI due to your disability, then you would qualify. 
	If you are classified as blind as defined by the Social Security Act, then you would qualify. 
	If you have a disability that is included on Social Security Administration's list of compassionate allowance conditions, then you would qualify. 
	We have a link on our website and it's on Social Security's website as well. 
	Otherwise, you would basically need to certify that you can get a doctor's note. The exact wording of what you would need is: 
	A written diagnosis from a licensed physician documenting a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that results in marked and severe functional limitations that can be expected to last at least a year or can cause death. 
	I know that's a lot, it's very wordy, it basically just means a doctor's note certifying that you do have a disability. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So some things that might differ from ABLE Accounts than some of the accounts that you may be more used to, like a Special Needs Trust or a 529 College Savings Account. 
	With an ABLE Account the account owner and the beneficiary are the same person, so, you know, I'm sure you are familiar with a Special Needs Trust, the account owner typically is a trustee and then the beneficiary is the person with the disability. 
	The same thing with a College savings account, the parent or the grandparent might be the account owner and then the child who is going to eventually be going to College is the beneficiary. 
	With an ABLE Account, the account owner and the beneficiary are the same person, which means that if that individual is capable of managing their own finances, then they can manage their account completely on their own. They can open the account, decide how all of the money is spent with no barriers in between them and their money. 
	And you notice, on the last slide I should have mentioned this then, but there's no qualifiers that say that you have to be receiving benefits or that you can't be receiving benefits or that you have to work or that you have to not be working. 
	So this can work for a wide range of individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to work and you are receiving benefits, you may be eligible for an ABLE Account. But the same thing, if you are able to work a full‑time job and don't qualify for benefits, you would still qualify for an ABLE Account and be able to use it for whatever your particular needs are. 
	As Miranda mentioned, eligible individuals can have only one account nationwide, so if you have an account open, I think I saw a question come through about this earlier, if you have an account open in a different state and you want to switch to New York ABLE, you could either send in the paper form or you could just enroll online in about ten minutes and right when you are enrolled, you can find a form on our website that you can print out and send in that is a rollover form to switch all of your money from the previous ABLE Account into your current ABLE Account. 
	And, also, anybody can contribute to New York ABLE Account. So that means that, you know, friends, family, you know, anybody you would like can help contribute to your account to help you financially, which is really great. 
	And the total balance, we'll get into some of the details about contribution limits and all of that, but the total balance of all of those contributions need to stay under that annual contribution limit. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So who can open an ABLE Account at this time?  This is another one of the things that has had a big change in the last year. So previously, if an individual was unable to open the account themselves, it had to be a Power of Attorney or Legal Guardian with property powers that opened the account on their behalf. 
	Now we have a much larger expanded hierarchy. So at the very top of the hierarchy, if the eligible individual is able to manage the account themselves, they can open it themselves, or, they can select any individual they want to manage the account on their behalf. 
	If they lack the legal capacity to open the account, then the account can be opened on their behalf, as with before, it can be opened by Power of Attorney or Conservator or Legal Guardian, but now in addition to that, a spouse, parent, sibling, or grandparent of the eligible individual can open the account, or, a Representative Payee that has been appointed by Social Security. 
	So that's a lot more people that are able to open the accounts now, so we hope this makes ‑‑ it doesn't make any more people eligible, but we hope it makes the accounts more accessible to a lot more people in a lot more situations. 
	Again, this is a hierarchy fashion, so that means, for example, if a parent and the Representative Payee both want to open and manage the account, then the parent would the one to win out because they are above the Representative Payee in that hierarchy structure. 
	So if you are an authorized individual and wanting to open the account on behalf of someone else, then you would just have to certify when you are opening the account that there is no one above you in that hierarchy that is ready, willing, and able to open the account at that time. And there's a lot more information about this on our website and in our Disclosure Booklet if you need that. 
	So one of the biggest questions we get is: What is a Qualified Disability Expense?  
	So first and foremost, Qualified Disability Expense is what you get to spend your ABLE funds on. You know, without having any tax penalties. 
	So Qualified Disability Expense is any expense that is incurred as a result of living with a disability and is intended to improve the health, independence, or quality of life of the disabled individual. 
	So these expenses include, but are not limited to the following: 
	Things like health and wellness. 
	Education. 
	Housing. 
	Transpiration. 
	Legal fees. 
	Financial Management. 
	Employment training and support. 
	Assistive Technology. 
	Personal support services. 
	Oversight and monitoring. 
	Funeral and burial expenses. 
	These were giving to all of the ABLE Programs straight from the IRS. 
	You can see there's a very expansive list, there are lots and lots of things you can spend your ABLE funds on without having any tax penalties. 
	So beyond that, it's really up to you, up to you as either the account owner or the authorized individual to make all of those decisions for yourself. 
	So any time you are going to make a purchase, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the definition, with the examples, and if you think that that's something that you want to purchase would qualify, then you should be good. 
	We always request that you save your receipts, hang on to them just in case the account owner were ever to be audited. So if there is ever an audit by the IRS then you would have to prove that you did, in fact, qualify for an ABLE Account. You know, that's when you would provide that doctor's note you have or the proof that you qualified for SSI or SSDI, and you would give them all of your receipts to show that these were all Qualified Disability Expenses as well. 
	If anything was ever determined to not be a Qualified Disability Expense, then it would be a tax penalty, so you would be treated as if the earnings portion of that withdrawal was income for that year and there would be a 10% tax penalty on top of that. 
	But you get to make all of those decisions for yourself, which is really great. 
	So now we're getting into more of the specifics. So every year, and this is the same for ABLE Accounts nationwide, you are allowed to contribute up to $17,000 a year into your account. 
	If the account owner does work, they may be able to contribute an additional amount, up to the Federal poverty line for a one‑person household, or their annual income, whichever is less, on top of that $17,000. 
	So for most of the country, that number is $13,590 this year in 2023, but I know it is a higher amount if you happen to live in Alaska or Hawaii. So that's a really nice option. There's more information on our website about who might qualify for that additional amount and who might not. 
	But for the most part, $17,000 is that annual contribution limit. 
	Maximum account balance for New York ABLE is $520,000. And all of these contributions are monitored by our program to make sure that the limits are not exceeded. So with the annual contribution limit, we will, if you do go over that, we will reach out and help you figure out if you qualify for the ABLE to work program, that additional amount you can contribute. 
	If not, then anything over the $17,000 would just be refunded and you would begin contributing again the following January. 
	As far as the $520,000, I know it will take a very long time for anybody to get there anyway, but you can go over the $520,000 with growth, with your investments, but the contributions would freeze at that point so you would not be able to make more contributions until that money was spent down. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So the only difference from that last slide that we just discussed is for SSI recipients specifically. So if you don't receive any Federal benefits or you receive SSDI or Medicaid and not SSI, then this does not apply to you. 
	But for SSI recipients, SSI has said that any amount in their account over $100,000 will be counted as an asset against them, the same way right now anything over $2,000 is counted against them. 
	So for SSI recipients, you know, as far as ABLE is concerned, you can still have up to that $520,000, but we just want you to be aware that SSI says that anything over $100,000 will be counted as a resource against you. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So this is one of the places that all of the different ABLE Accounts nationwide may differ. We are all allowed to have different options for where your money goes, for how your money is invested. 
	So at this time, New York ABLE is offering four portfolio chooses that range from conservative options to more aggressive options and a FDIC‑insured checking option. The checking option automatically comes with a debit card. You can also order checks from us as well. And we actually just switched from the Allpoint Banking Network to the MoneyPass Network, so now any Moneypass ATM can be used with the debit card free of any fees or charges. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So this is a bar graph of what our investment options are made up of. So the aggressive option is about 85% stocks and about 15% bonds. 
	And then, of course, as you get more moderate, more conservative, there's less stocks. There's more bonds and more cash until you get to the checking option. That again is FDIC‑insured and all made up of cash. 
	Again, you can choose any combination of all five of these options. You can choose one, you can choose two, or all five of them, whatever works best for you. 
	And you can always change those investment options for all future deposits any time you want. So it's nice and flexible there. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So we have a page on our website, and we will at the end have our website and everything up on the screen so you can take a picture or you can write it down, but a lot of people that open ABLE Accounts may be not comfortable with investing, not as familiar with investing, so they don't know which options they should be choosing. 
	So we do have a page on our website that you can go back to any time that is called the What Kind of Investor Are you Page. That page is designed to ask you questions so that you can help make those decisions for yourself. 
	So they ask you things like, what expenses do I want to save for?  When am I going to need this money?  What is my risk tolerance?  And that is because, you know, you can see from the little chart on the screen, an aggressive option has the most potential for gain, most potential for growth long‑term, but if you don't leave it in there long‑term, it equally has the most potential for loss. 
	So you want to balance that risk‑and‑reward there to figure out what works best for your situation. 
	So if you are looking to save for something really long‑term, like retirement or a house or something like that, then you may be more comfortable with a more aggressive option. 
	If you are looking to spend the money every month on your regular bills, then you might be more comfortable with something more conservative. But, again, you can always choose a combination to kind of diversify, have some of your money safe for everyday use and some of it invested for long‑term use, whatever works best for every individual situation is good for you to do. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So this is a chart of our current fees. So there is an Asset‑Based Fee per investment option of .4%. There's also a Checking Option Fee of $2 per month. But that Checking Option Fee gets waived as long as you have an average of $250 in your account, or, if you choose electronic delivery of those statements then that $2 monthly fee gets waived. 
	There's also a quarterly Maintenance Fee which is just the amount we need to keep the program running. Right now that is $11.25 per quarter if you choose the electronic statements, or $13.75 per quarter if you choose the paper statements. And that is for your entire account, not per option. So that quarterly Maintenance Fee will not be multiplied if you choose multiple options. It will be divided equally amongst them, so it's not going to cost you an extra Maintenance Fee if you are choosing those extra options. 
	And, you know, we always encourage you, again, to visit our website for the most up‑to‑date on performance, on our fees, because they can always be ever‑changing. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So some additional account option that is are available to account owners. There is a Federal tax credit called a Saver's Credit of up to $2,000 that can help you save for retirement. 
	And you can also rollover from a 529 College Savings Account to an ABLE Account with no Federal or State tax implications. So that's a really nice option there for someone who has a 529 College Savings Account open for their child or their grandchild and they realize that an ABLE Account might be more appropriate for them, realize they might not be going to College, or maybe they did go to College and there's just a lot of money left over in that 529 account and they don't want to have the fees or the penalties of a non‑education‑related expense. Now you can rollover from the 529 College Savings Account into the ABLE Account with no tax implications. 
	One thing to note is that is still limited to the $17,000 per year contribution limit. So that, plus all of your other contributions need to stay under the $17,000. 
	And at the moment, this is on the Federal end, you know, applying to all ABLE Programs, on the Federal end, this is set to expire January 1, 2026. It's possible it could always be extended at that point, but we don't know that. 
	So if you are someone in a situation where you have lots of excess funds in the 529 account that is in your name, you might want to start thinking about opening an ABLE Account and rolling that over now because it might not be an option available forever. 
	But there is more information about both of those options on our website if you want more information. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So there's lots of different ways you can contribute and withdraw from your ABLE Account. You can contribute just by sending us a check in the mail if that's the easiest method for you. 
	You can set up payroll direct deposit, whether it's your own account, your child's account, grandchild's account, you go always set up direct deposit for all or a portion of your paycheck. 
	You can sign in, once you have an account open, sign right into our website and sign up for a one time electronic fund transfer or recurring contributions. You can do that easily on the website. 
	Like we said, you can rollover from a 529 account or another State's ABLE Account. 
	And there's also an online gifting option called UGift. This is my favorite option. I think it's always great to have friends and family contribute to your open account. 
	Once you sign up and log in you can get your UGift code, it's just a bunch of letters and numbers. You can give people the UGift code and they can go on the website, type in the code and contribute to your account. 
	The reason I like that option so much is because it's a safe way to allow other people to contribute to your account. You don't have to give out your account number, you don't have to give out your Social Security number, the only thing anyone can do with that UGift code is contribute to your account, so it's a nice, safe way to allow that to happen. 
	To withdraw funds you can always call us toll‑free at our phone number from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on weekdays. All of that information will be on the slide at the end. 
	If you have chosen the checking option for your only option or as one of your options, again, you will get that debit card, or, you can order a checkbook from us. I think that's the easiest way to spend your money, obviously, just using your debit card or your check. 
	The same way, you can sign in and select one time contributions or recurring contributions, you can do the same thing withdrawals. You can sign right into the website and set up a one-time withdrawal or recurring withdrawals. 
	And you can always download a paper form on the website as well if you are more comfortable with that and sending it in. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So to enroll in New York ABLE, again, you can download a paper form if you are more comfortable with that, or, you can just enroll online on the website by clicking the "Enroll" button and answering the questions there in about ten minutes. 
	So you want to gather the information of the authorized individual, whether it's yourself or a loved one, you would have to gather their name, date of birth, address, Social Security, or tax identification number, and the phone number of the eligible individual. 
	Their basis of eligibility, which goes back to those four bullets on one of the first pages we were talking about, whether they qualified for SSI or SSDI, whether they have that doctor's note, that's their basis of eligibility. 
	And their category of disability, there's a drop down menu there to select that category. 
	Then you choose your investments. We do, again, have an "Investment" tab on the website and our Disclosure Booklet has all of the information you would want about any of the investments. 
	And when you are doing it online or on the paper form, it has all five investments listed with a box next to it and you are going to type in that box what percentage of every contribution you want going into each option. 
	So not only can you choose however many options you want, you can also weight it however you want so it doesn't have to be all equally split. 
	And you can get started with as little as $25 or $15 if you are using payroll deduction. 
	Next slide, please. 
	So here's all of our contact information. You can call us weekdays from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at 1‑855‑5NY‑ABLE. We also participate with the New York State Relay System if you are deaf or hearing‑impaired. 
	Our website is mynyable.org. 
	And I've got my contact information on the screen as well. So you are always welcome to call me or e‑mail me if you have any questions about opening an account, you know, any kind of general questions, or, if you happen to work for or are a member of an organization that you think would be interested in a presentation, I am the Outreach Coordinator, so I am happy to discuss any future presentations with anybody that is interested. 
	So with that, Miranda or Laurie, do we have any questions in here?  I am done for the most part, so everybody can type in their questions if they haven't put any in yet. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Yeah, we have been pulling a few. Laurie and Marlene have been providing us a few in the chat. I know they have been answering some of the Q&A questions that are general to all ABLE Programs. There are a few that are very specific to the New York ABLE Program so I'll ask a few of those that have come in. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Wonderful. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And we also want to let folks know because I know a couple of the questions will reiterate them, but some of them might have been asked before you answered them during the presentation, so it's fine to just reinforce that again in case someone missed it. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Of course. I always apologize during my presentations because it's a lot of information. [Laughter] It's a lot to absorb in a half hour. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: But we also have Cheyenne, our Project Coordinator, we heard from her at the beginning, she has also posted the link, and I'll ask her to do it again to the slide deck that folks can take with them. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Perfect. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That slide deck will also be posted on our website within the next five to six business days. You've got lots of ways of getting this information. 
	I know you mentioned earlier if someone wanted to take their camera and take a picture of the slide, they don't have to do that, we can send them the deck or they can download it. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Okay. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: The very first question we have. It's kind of lengthy, so I'll sum it up and I know you touched base on it, but it's a question about those fees. 
	Do you have any expectation that fees might change at all this year or currently?  That's the first question. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yeah, they always can. You know, sometimes the more assets or the more accounts that a program has, the more easy it is to lower those fees. So, again, I reiterate, you know, whenever you are looking into that, check our website because that's got the most up‑to‑date information about everything, about the fees, about the performance of the investment options, all of that. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And the next part of their question here is, they were comparing the ABLE Account fees to IRA fees. I know when we think about 529 College Savings accounts, ABLE Accounts are their own special creation, it's for people that are on benefits. Would folks that are not on benefits can benefit, this is tax free growth, which is huge. You are able to maintain your benefits or have that tax‑free growth and pull those funds out at any point and not get hit with, you know, early withdrawal or things like that. 
	Can you speak to that for just a minute?  
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. You know, that makes it ‑‑ I mean, I'm not familiar with the specific fees of the IRAs, so I can't say how we compare to them in that way, but, again, the biggest thing is being able to take the money out whenever you need to because a lot of those things, maybe not a Special Needs Trust, but, you know, IRAs, other kinds of retirement accounts, 529 College Savings accounts, those are all different mediums that you have to leave your money in there long‑term before you are allowed to access it without any fees. 
	With the ABLE Account you can take that money out any time you want as long as it's for Qualified Disability Expenses and have no taxes or fees involved with that at all. So it's a really great option there as well. 
	Also, for people who are receiving Federal benefits, there's that added bonus of whatever is in the ABLE Account they cannot count as an asset against them. 
	I'm not sure if that's true for something like an IRA, so it may be able to be counted, depending on, you know, what benefits you have, it may be able to be counted as an asset, I'm not sure. Do you know that, Miranda?  Do you have any idea?  
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: I've been tracking all of the other questions that are coming, too, Jenna. So just what you are saying, you know, in terms of an ABLE Account, the assets in your ABLE Account won't count against any other means‑tested benefits program that you might need or benefit from. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That you are either trying to become eligible for maintain your eligibility for, but an ABLE Account can also help you transfer off of those benefits if that's a goal of yours. There's lots of flexibility here. The ABLE Account is a very safe place if you are going above that $2,000 amount. 
	I know some of these questions are quite long, so I'm going to go to some of the others that are a little shorter. If you have a longer question, you have Jenna's contact information right in front of you, please feel free to reach out to her with those. 
	But some of the other questions are talking about how to change an ABLE Account to the New York ABLE Account. Now I know you talked about that on an earlier slide as well, but could you just reinforce that?  
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Of course. Again, you would open the New York ABLE Account the same way you would as if you had no other ABLE Account at all. You would either send in the paper form or enroll on line. But right when you do that enrollment, because you are only allowed to have one ABLE Account nationwide, you would go into the "Forms" section of our website and print out the form for a rollover. So you would tell us you are rolling over from another State's ABLE Account ‑‑ or another State's ABLE Program, I'm sorry, and it would ask all of the information, you know, what state, your account number, all of that, and we'll able to roll everything over from the old account to the new account. 
	And that's the one time that there is an exception for the $17,000 a year contribution limit. If you happen to have $50,000 in a different ABLE Account, the one ABLE Account per person rule trumps the annual contribution rule, so you will be able to roll the entire amount over at once. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That's a really important thing to reiterate. I'm sure you also have some FAQs or if people want to call the 855 number. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Exactly. We do have, like you said, I don't ‑‑ I should mention this more, but we do have a frequently asked questions area of our website that might be able to help with a lot of your questions as well. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: I bet that question might be in there. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And also the other thing, I know there are lengthy documents with every plan, all 49 of them because there's 46 states that have ABLE Programs and I think there's 49 total. A few states have two that you can choose from. You can only have one, but there might be multiple options. 
	But the disclosure documents. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yes, absolutely. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Those might be lengthy. Sometimes they are knocking on 200 pages, but there's usually a Table of Contents and, you know, rollovers, how do I roll it over?  You just look in the Table of Contents in any plan and it will give you that information on how to do that, too. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yeah. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Lots of places to find this. We want to make sure you can't walk around on the website or these presentations without tripping over the right answers. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Absolutely. And supplements, too. A lot of the time instead of doing a whole new disclosure, there will be a supplement to it and usually that's right at the top, so, you know, if you want the most up‑to‑date information about anything that's changed, you might want to look at those supplements. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Yeah. Changes in fees, not that you wouldn't promote it elsewhere, but all that included in those disclosure documents. 
	It says here: Our New York ABLE Accounts subject to Medicaid payback?  Can you speak to that?  
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: They are. This is an issue nationwide with most ABLE Programs. So there's kind of, like, an order of operations here. 
	So, yes, ABLE Accounts are eligible for the Medicaid recapture, but before they can do that, we are allowed to pay out any outstanding Qualified Disability Expenses. So the process that we have at New York ABLE is once we are notified of the death, we send out a letter to the address on file, giving them six months to notify us of any outstanding Qualified Disability Expenses. So that could be outstanding medical costs, you know, things like that, anything that is outstanding after the death. 
	And the big one at that point will probably be funeral and burial expenses. You let us know about all of those expenses and we can release those funds first and foremost. 
	Then Medicaid is allowed to come in and recapture up to the amount that they paid for that person's care during the time that the ABLE Account was open. So only during the time that Medicaid and ABLE overlapped are they able to recapture. 
	And, again, you don't even have to have Medicaid to be an ABLE Account Owner, so, you know, it certainly does not apply to people who are not Medicaid recipients. 
	So then after the Medicaid recapture, if they are eligible for that, then any remaining funds will be rolled into the estate. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Right. And, you know, do always look at individual states. Sometimes states pass legislation, sometimes it's new legislation that might be meant to address this, but it's always worth looking into further as well. 
	I would say the one thing about all of the ABLE Programs, including New York because I know things continue to change there, keep checking in. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Absolutely. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: They become more competitive, these features evolves. All of the ABLE Programs are really working hard to make sure they are meeting the needs, they are supporting folks in being able to open and use these accounts effectively. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Of course. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Looking at some of the other questions, and folks are asking good questions. If I don't get to you, put it in the post‑event survey and we'll get back to you or e‑mail or contact Jenna. 
	One of the questions, we talked a little bit about this, they are framing it slightly differently. 
	You mentioned that the owner and beneficiary is the same person, which is a key point. What if the beneficiary is not fully capable of managing the account, can account be set up for limited access about the beneficiary, and they are probably talking about the hierarchy of other people who can open the account. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yes. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Can they provide access or limit access for the account owner if they are helping to set that up?  That's an interesting question. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: The listed owner would still be considered the account owner and beneficiary. If the account owner is not able to manage their own finances, the other person is considered the authorized individual. They are the ones that are allowed to open the account and manage it on the disabled individual’s behalf. 
	I'm not really sure how to answer this question because if the person is deemed not capable of managing their own finances, then it's kind of, like, one or the other thing. 
	Either they are legally capable of managing their own finances and they should be the ones managing the account, or, they're not capable of managing their own finances, in which case the authorized individual would be managing it for them. 
	But I have certainly gotten feedback from people where the account owner is legally capable, but they are still a little nervous about them making responsibility decisions and things like that. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Yeah. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: So if the parent, you know, someone else in place is the one contributing everything, they can limit how much or how often they want to contribute to the account because anything they don't contribute then the person won't have access to at this time. You know, if that's how they want to play it. 
	I would say every situation is unique and I can figure that out amongst your family. 
	But legally, either they have the capacity or they don't have the capacity. It's tough. 
	Even someone without a disability, you have an 18‑year‑old or 19‑year‑old child, are you not going to like all of the financial decisions they make [laughter], but they still legally have the right to make them. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: You know, the autonomy and agency, you know, when we do say that, too, we always talk about a circle of support. 
	I'll be honest, one of our very first Ambassadors who started working with us in 2018, he opened his ABLE Account, has an MBA, asked his brother‑in‑law, hey, where should I invest?  So he was getting some support in that. Don't feel like you have to do it alone. You can ask trusted folks in your inner circle to assist you in opening. 
	And we encourage you, if you have questions around this, you can also e‑mail us at ablenrc.org and our ABLE subject matter experts can help in addressing this. 
	And the two Decision Guides that we pointed to earlier on how to fund your ABLE Account, as well as how to manage your ABLE Account, who can help you manage that ABLE Account, so just to support you on this as well, Jenna, the Decision Guides. Folks, check that out. How to manage that ABLE Account, especially if you are managing your own, you might be helping someone else manage theirs that Decision Guide will certainly help to further answer this question and address some of that. 
	So we have just a couple other questions I want to get to. We've got a few more minutes. 
	Is the Checking Account the only part that is FDIC‑insured?  That's Federal Deposit Insurance Company, that's what FDIC stands for. It's insurance. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Correct. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: So that Checking Account that has the cash in it, that's the question, you know, would ‑‑ could you lose funds in those other options?  
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right. So the checking option is the only one that is FDIC‑insured because it is a Checking Account. So for the most part, it's just cash, the money just sits there. 
	The other accounts do all have an aspect of investment involved, so the money is going into the market and we know how volatile the market can be, so, again, you can choose a more conservative option if you are worried about those investments and you want it to be a little safer as opposed to those aggressive options, but, yes, all of them from conservative to aggressive are all being invested in the markets and do have those ups and downs and can be at risk. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: The potential for loss, but also the potential for growth and it's tax‑free growth. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Absolutely. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That's a wealth growing option. But there's an element of risk, whether it's conservative risk or aggressive risk. Over time there's an option for that. 
	I love the fact that with all the ABLE Programs, you know, you can pick and choose, do you want some in a cash insured area?  Do you want to grow?  
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Exactly. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: We have folks who have been, like, I'll dabble in 20%‑30% in my ABLE Accounts funds I have in investment just to put my toe in the pool of investing. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Exactly. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: But also knowing just because you might also be on benefits, if you choose investment you could grow and that's safe. But also you could have loss. It's really important for folks to understand that. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That's also part of the autonomy and agency and being able to access this kind of resources that many others have the opportunity to invest. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right. And like you said, this is where the diversifying comes in. It's really nice they can choose multiple options. Like you said they could put 20% in aggressive, keep the rest in their checking and as they get more comfortable and see, hey, maybe this is growing a little bit, they can always change the options for the future. They can then say, okay, now I want 25% going into the aggressive for all of their future deposits. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Right. I want to get to one last question. There are some others that are great here. Folks, reach out to Jenna with these questions. They are good questions. I try to dabble and grab as many as we could that weren't answered on the slide or that folks can't reach out to you on. 
	But one question here is just general: How can you become a Representative to manage ABLE accounts?  And I'm thinking that extra "S", that's more than just a Rep Payee or Legal Representative, maybe an Organizational Rep. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: If they are an organizational Rep Payee, as long as no one is above them in the hierarchy that is ready, willing, and able to open those accounts, they would be able to open them on behalf of the people at their organizations they are responsible for. 
	We are working on a specific Rep Payee form, a dedicated Rep Payee enrollment form. Until then, if you are a Rep Payee and you are looking to open accounts right now, I encourage you to call our Hotline, the 1‑855‑5NY‑ABLE, and they can talk you through modifications to the original enrollment form. 
	But we are working on a dedicated Rep Payee enrollment form where it will be asking for the organizational name and I‑10 instead of your individual name and Social Security number. 
	And hopefully the idea is that hopefully you'll be able to enroll multiple people at once and not have to fill out your information a hundred different times. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And I think that's a really good note to end on here because it shows the ABLE Programs are listening and realizing, what is this opportunity?  Who can help support opening ABLE Accounts?  And helping more people benefit from them. 
	How do those folks not have to put their personal Social Security number on a form, but instead the organization's tax ID number. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yes. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: That's what I‑10 stands for. We have all these acronyms among ourselves. What's the acronym?  Here's what it stands for. 
	Jenna, thank you so much. We only have two more slides ‑‑ or three to share as we are wrapping up here. 
	This was really great information. Great questions, folks. And if you didn't get them answered, reach out. We want to be here to answer those questions. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Yes. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: And support you. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Call me, e‑mail me, whatever. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: So we just have a couple other slides here as I'm wrapping up. If I can get my ‑‑ there we go. Oh, I had a Q&A slide I could have had us on this whole time. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: [Laughter] 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: It's good that we had your contact information up, Jenna. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Right. 
	>> MIRANDA KENNEDY: Again, do check out the resources on the website, The ABLE National Resource Center website. We have information about all of the programs, as well as best practices. If you are just getting started or are you trying to make the most of your ABLE Account or a family member's ABLE Account or if you are a serve provider or financial planner, here are some great resources for you. Check those out. 
	And do, please, help to spread the word. It's really important that people understand what ABLE Accounts are so they can choose if this is something they want to explore and move forward with. It's really important, folks, if they are choosing to not open one, that they are choosing not to open one because they do know what it is. 
	It's really hard for us when we hear from people: I wish I would have understand this earlier. It's what we hear the most from our account owners and family members who serve as Ambassadors. 
	Feel free to learn as you go. There's so much out there for you and support in this area for this really life‑changing resource, this financial tool that can really change the game for folks. 
	Please do sign up for that AchievABLE Newsletter. It comes out every other month. 
	You can also connect with us at ABLE National Resource Center on social media, on Facebook where we have been livestreaming this ‑‑ thanks, everyone, for joining us there ‑‑ on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter @theABLENRC. 
	With that, I want to say thank you everyone for joining us. Thank you, Jenna, for sharing information about New York's ABLE Program and how it continues to grow and support folks. 
	And we hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day! Thank you so much. 
	>> JENNA McCLOSKY: Thanks, everybody! 
	
	[Webinar concluded] 
	
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