Several states say they will work together in effort to offer new accounts that will allow people with disabilities to save money without risking their government benefits. Nine states have joined forces as they work to make ABLE accounts available to the public.
ABLE accounts were authorized with the federal passage of the Achieving a Better Life Act in 2014, but each state has to approve their own legislation and create regulations before offering them. To date, 40 states and Washington, D.C. have approved legislation to create ABLE accounts, but no state has made the program available as of yet.
State officials say they will be able to attract better quality investment products at a lower cost by uniting in a consortium. The states plan to work together to offer investment options, but each will operate its own ABLE program.
The states committed to participating in the consortium include Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. It is thought that are states are considering joining. Together, the states say they will leverage the potential of over 47 million residents.
Without such a consortium, it is thought that there would be too few people eligible in each individual state for ABLE accounts to attract the best offerings.