A designated beneficiary is limited to one ABLE account, which a qualified ABLE program administers. Except in the case of a rollover or program-to-program transfer, if a designated beneficiary has an additional account, it generally will not be treated as an ABLE account, and will be subject to normal resource counting rules.

EXCEPTION: If an additional account closes within 90 days from the account open date, the account is not a countable resource for any period the additional account was open.

Upon the death of the designated beneficiary, funds remaining in the ABLE account, after payment of all outstanding qualified disability expenses, must be used to reimburse the State(s) for Medical Assistance (Medicaid) benefits received by the designated beneficiary, if the State(s) files(s) a claim for reimbursement.

An ABLE program is established and maintained by a State (or State agency or instrumentality thereof) through which eligible individuals can open ABLE accounts.

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  Contributions are payments of funds into an ABLE account

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  Contributions must be in cash and may be made in the form of cash or a check, money order, credit card, electronic transfer, Gift of Independence card, or a similar method.

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  Contributions may be made by any person. (“Person,” as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), includes an individual, trust, estate, partnership, association, company, or corporation.)

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  The total annual amount of contributions from all sources is limited to the amount of the per-donee gift-tax exclusion in effect for a given calendar year. The following chart shows the contributions for each year:

The designated beneficiary is the individual who:

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  owns the ABLE account;

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  was an eligible individual when the account was established; or

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  succeeded the former designated beneficiary in that capacity.

To be an eligible individual, he or she must be:

1. a. 

   Receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based on blindness or disability that began before age 26; or

2. b. 

   In SSI suspense due solely to excess income or resources, but otherwise eligible for SSI based on blindness or disability that began before age 26; or

3. c. 

   Receiving disability insurance benefits (DIB), childhood disability benefits (CDB), or disabled widow’s or widower’s benefits (DWB) based on blindness or disability that began before age 26; or

4. d. 

   The subject of a disability certification.

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     A disability certification, to be signed by the individual or someone else establishing the ABLE account for the individual:

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     Certifies that the individual is blind or has a physical or mental impairment that results in marked and severe functional limitation and that such blindness or disability began before age 26.

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     Includes a certification that the individual has a copy of the diagnosis relating to their relevant impairment(s), signed by a physician.

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     Conditions on SSA’s “List of Compassionate Allowances Conditions” are deemed to meet the requirements for filing a disability certification if the condition was present and produced marked and severe functional limitations before the individual attained age 26.

NOTE: Do not draw an inference regarding disability under the Social Security Act from a disability certification.

A distribution is any payment from an ABLE account. A program-to-program transfer is not a distribution. The designated beneficiary or person with signature authority determines when a distribution is made. Distributions (other than rollovers and returns of contributions) may be made only to or for the benefit of the designated beneficiary.

A member of the designated beneficiary's family means a sibling by blood, marriage, or adoption, and including a brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, and half-sister.

A person with signature authority can establish and administer an ABLE account for a designated beneficiary who is a minor child or is otherwise incapable of managing the account. Signature authority is not the equivalent of ownership. The person with signature authority may be the eligible individual's agent under a power of attorney or, if none, a conservator or legal guardian, spouse, parent, sibling, grandparent of the eligible individual, or a representative payee appointed for the eligible individual by SSA, in that order. Always consider the designated beneficiary to be the owner of the ABLE account, regardless of whether someone else has signature authority over it.

NOTE: In some instances, the representative payee appointed by SSA may not be the same person who has signature authority over the beneficiary's ABLE account. For example, a legal guardian may have signature authority for a beneficiary who has an organizational representative payee. If a payee does not have the signature authority over the ABLE account, they cannot deposit SSA benefits to the ABLE account because they do not control the account.

A program-to-program transfer means the direct transfer of:

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  the entire balance of an ABLE account into an ABLE account of the same designated beneficiary in which the first ABLE account is closed upon the transfer of the funds; or

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  part or all of the balance to an ABLE account of an eligible individual who is a member of the family of the designated beneficiary.

Qualified disability expenses (QDEs) are related to the blindness or disability of the designated beneficiary and for the benefit of the designated beneficiary. In general, a QDE includes, but is not limited to, an expense for:

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  Education;

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  Housing;

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  Transportation;

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  Employment training and support;

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  Assistive technology and related services;

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  Personal support services;

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  Health;

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  Prevention and wellness;

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  Financial management and administrative services;

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  Legal fees;

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  Expenses for ABLE account oversight and monitoring;

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  Funeral and burial; and,

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  Basic living expenses.

Housing expenses for purposes of an ABLE account are similar to household costs for in-kind support and maintenance purposes. However, for ABLE purposes, food is considered a qualified disability expense (basic living expense), but not a housing expense. Housing expenses include expenses for:

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  Mortgage (including property insurance required by the mortgage holder);

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  Real property taxes;

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  Rent;

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  Heating fuel;

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  Gas;

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  Electricity;

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  Water;

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  Sewer; and

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  Garbage removal.

A rollover is the contribution to an ABLE account of a designated beneficiary (or a family member of the designated beneficiary), of all or a portion of an amount withdrawn from the designated beneficiary’s ABLE account, provided that:

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  the contribution is made within 60 days of the date of the withdrawal; and

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  no rollover has been made into an ABLE account of the designated beneficiary within the prior 12 months.

A payment made into an ABLE account constitutes a contribution. Consider the contribution made by the person to whom the funds belong or are due. Exclude contributions to an ABLE account from the income of the designated beneficiary. Excluded contributions include:

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  Rollovers from a family member's ABLE account to the SSI applicant, recipient, or deemor’s ABLE account;

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  Rollovers in limited amounts from a qualified tuition plan (also called a 529 plan) to the SSI applicant, recipient, or deemor's ABLE account. The ABLE account must be for the same beneficiary as the 529 account or for a member of the same family as the 529 account holder; and

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  Contributions in excess of the annual limit if the designated beneficiary worked and did not contribute for the taxable year to any of the following types of retirement plans:

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    defined contribution plan (within the meaning of section 414(i) of the IRC) with respect to which the requirements of section 401(a) or 403(a) of the IRC are met;

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    annuity contract under section 403(b) of the IRC; or

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    eligible deferred compensation plan under section 457(b) of the IRC.

Additional excluded contributions by an employed beneficiary are limited per year to the lesser of:

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  The poverty level for a one-person household, as determined for the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the taxable year begins as found in HI 03001.020; or

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  The amount of the designated beneficiary's earnings and other compensation (as defined by Section 219(f)(1) of the IRC).

The designated beneficiary is potentially eligible for a tax credit for contributions that he or she makes to his or her ABLE account.

NOTE: The fact that a person uses his or her income to contribute to an ABLE account does not mean that his or her income is not countable for SSI purposes as it normally would be. Income received by the designated beneficiary and deposited into his or her ABLE account is income to the designated beneficiary. For example, an applicant, recipient, or deemor can have contributions automatically deducted from his or her paycheck and deposited into an ABLE account. In this case, include the income used to make the ABLE account contribution in the applicant, recipient or deemor's gross wages.

The funds in an ABLE account can accrue interest, earn dividends, and otherwise appreciate in value. Earnings increase the account's balance. Exclude these earnings from the income of the designated beneficiary.

Exclude up to and including $100,000 of the balance of funds in an ABLE account from the resources of the designated beneficiary.

A distribution from an ABLE account is not income but is a conversion of a resource from one form to another, see SI 01110.600B.4.

Do not count distributions from an ABLE account as income of the designated beneficiary, regardless of whether the distributions are for a QDE that is not related to housing, for a housing expense, or for a non-qualified expense.

Count the amount by which an ABLE account balance exceeds $100,000 as a resource of the designated beneficiary.

A distribution from an ABLE account is not income, but is a conversion of a resource from one form to another, see SI 01110.600B.4.

Count a distribution for a housing expense or for an expense that is not a QDE as a resource, if the designated beneficiary retains the distribution into the month following the month of receipt. If the designated beneficiary spends the distribution within the month of receipt, there is no effect on eligibility. Apply normal SSI resource counting rules and exclusions to items purchased with funds from an ABLE account.

EXAMPLE: Retained distribution intended for housing expenses is a resource

Amy takes a distribution of $500 from her ABLE account in May to pay a housing expense for June. She deposits the $500 into her checking account in May, withdraws $500 in cash on June 3, and pays her landlord. This distribution is a housing expense and part of her checking account balance as of June 1, which makes it a countable resource for the month of June.

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  Count the amount of funds used for a non-qualified expense or housing expense as a resource as of the first moment of the month in which the funds were spent if the designated beneficiary uses the distribution (that was previously excluded) for a non-qualified purpose or a housing expense.

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  Count the retained funds as a resource as of the first of the following month if an individual’s intent to use the funds for a QDE changes at any other time, but he or she has not spent the funds.

When an applicant, recipient, or deemor alleges being the designated beneficiary of an ABLE account, obtain evidence such as the:

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  State where the program is administered;

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  Account number;

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  Account establishment date;

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  Name of the owner;

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  Name of any signatories;

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  Account balance.

Contact the appropriate ABLE program to obtain necessary information if the available evidence does not provide it.

Since October 1, 2017, most States report to us the first-of-the-month account balances and the prior month’s distribution information for all ABLE accounts in their program.

Store the evidence in the Evidence Portal (EP). If you contact the ABLE program directly, document the information you received on a Report of Contact in the Consolidated Claims Experience (CCE) or on an SSA-5002 (Report of Contact) in paper claims.

Record all ABLE account and balance information in the web based SSI Claims system. Enter the following information on the Achieving a Better Life Experience Account page:

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  Select yes to the ABLE account question on the SSI Claims System Resource Selection page;

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  Select the program State where the ABLE account was established or indicate unknown;

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  Enter the unique account number assigned by the State or indicate Unknown;

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  Enter the account opened date or indicate unknown;

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  Input a closed account by indicating the closed account date, or indicate unknown, or leave the field blank;

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  Enter the name of the person with signature authority (if different from the designated beneficiary); and

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  Enter the account balance information in the values field.

For instructions on completing the ABLE screens, see MS 08113.038.

The designated beneficiary of an ABLE account is always the owner of the account for SSI purposes. Review ABLE account balances during redeterminations and when potential ineligibility exists due to the ABLE account balance.

State ABLE programs notify us through a monthly data exchange when individuals establish new accounts. The Pending Achieving a Better Life Experience Account page displays new account information. The following information including:

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  Account Owner Name;

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  Account Owner SSN;

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  Account Owner Birth date;

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  Program State;

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  Account Number;

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  Account Opened Date;

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  Account Closed Date;

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  Name of Signature Authority;

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  Balance Month/Year; and

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  Balance Amount.

If the data on the Achieving a Better Life Experience Account page does not match an existing ABLE account, determine whether the ABLE data received applies to the person for whom it was received. Select one of the options in the SSI Claims system:

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  update an existing ABLE page;

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  add this ABLE account;

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  reject this ABLE account; or

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  decide later.

If you select “decide later,” address the pending page before closing an initial claim, redetermination, or appeal event.

NOTE: Once you document the ABLE account information in the SSI Claims system, subsequent reports received from the State that have matching data automatically update the account balance information. However, distribution data will not be available until a future systems release.

Verify a distribution only when an applicant, recipient, or deemor alleges retaining, or other evidence indicates that he or she retained, all or part of the distribution into months following the month of receipt. Consider the distribution material only to determine whether the applicant, recipient, or deemor’s countable resources exceed the resource limit, since distributions do not count as income.

Obtain evidence that shows distribution amount(s), distribution date(s), and the distribution recipient(s) (for example, the designated beneficiary paid the distribution directly to a vendor).

Obtain and accept the applicant, recipient, or deemor's allegation that he or she used or intends to use the distribution for:

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  a QDE not related to housing;

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  a housing expense; or

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  an expense that is not a QDE.

Count the amount of funds used for a non-qualified expense or housing expense as a resource as of the first moment of the month in which the funds were spent if the designated beneficiary uses the distribution (that was previously excluded per SI 01130.740C.5.a. in this section) for a non-qualified purpose or a housing expense.

If an individual’s intent to use the funds for a QDE changes at any other time, but he or she has not spent the funds, count the retained funds as a resource as of the first of the month following the month of change of intent. Document the individual’s change of intent on a Report of Contact in the CCE or on an SSA-5002 (Report of Contact) in paper claims.

ABLE account distributions are the conversion of a resource from one form to another. They continue to be a resource if retained into the month following the month of receipt. Exclude from resources a distribution retained for a QDE not related to housing. Document ABLE account distributions on the appropriate SSI Claims system resources page (e.g., cash, financial institution account).

NOTE: Distribution information obtained from the State by data exchange is in the SSI Claims system, but you cannot access it until additional system enhancements are completed.

Some ABLE programs provide designated beneficiaries with a prepaid debit card, which may be used to control the issuance of distributions and provide designated beneficiaries with convenient access to their ABLE funds.

If a designated beneficiary has an ABLE prepaid debit card:

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  Record the ABLE prepaid debit card on the Other Resource page in SSI Claims system;

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  Enter the program State and the ABLE account number;

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  Consider monies distributed onto an ABLE prepaid debit card as a qualified distribution unless we determine otherwise;

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  Enter the intended use of the funds in the Description field.

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  Enter the alleged Value of the ABLE prepaid debit card;

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  Enter the entire alleged value as an excluded amount when funds are added onto the debit card; and

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  Use the new exclusion reason of “ABLE Prepaid Debit Card” on the Other Resource page to exclude monies on a prepaid ABLE debit card.