NATIONWIDE — On the 33rd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Sen. Bob Casey, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced new legislation to expand access to the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) program. 

The ABLE MATCH (Making ABLE a Tool to Combat Hardship) Act removes some of the financial barriers low-income Americans with disabilities face when enrolling in the ABLE program.

ABLE allows people with disabilities to save more than the $2,000 asset limit required in many federal assistance programs, and was initially created in 2014 by Casey’s ABLE Act. 

“Over the last nine years, the ABLE program has been a lifeline for thousands of people with disabilities across the nation,” said Casey. “However, there are still too many people whose lives would be made easier by the program, but don’t have sufficient funds to open an account. The ABLE MATCH Act will make it easier for low-income people with disabilities to access the ABLE program, and get the benefits they need and deserve.” 

Poverty and saving

People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to people without disabilities, yet households including a person with a work-limiting disability require more income to obtain the same standard of living as people without disabilities. 

Asset limitations to qualify for needed federal assistance programs did not make this easier.

The ABLE program has allowed people to save an average of $9,715. However, many are discouraged from opening accounts because they do not have sufficient funds. 

The ABLE MATCH Act helps people with lower incomes participate in the ABLE program by creating a federal dollar-for-dollar match for new and existing ABLE accounts held by individuals who make $28,000 annually or less.

The match tapers off for each dollar a person earns over $28,000. This figure is also indexed to inflation and adjusted for heads of household and married couples. 

ABLE and ABLE MATCH will help people save money for their disability expenses and health needs, boosting enrollment in the program and improving the financial health of people with disabilities with lower incomes, according to the news release. 

People with disabilities face financial problems 

In general, people with disabilities face more money challenges than do people without disabilities. Those with lower incomes also have great difficulty saving for the future. They are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to people without disabilities, according to disability

compendium.org.

Additionally, according to www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org, households with a person with a disability that limits their ability to work require, on average, 28 percent more income to obtain the same standard of living as households without a person with a disability.

The intersection of disability and poverty is further worsened by asset limitations for federal assistance programs that people with disabilities need to participate in their communities. 

Money saved under the ABLE Act can be spent on assistive technology, home modifications and much more. As of March 2023, ABLE accounts helped 144,068 people with disabilities across the United States save an average of $9,715 each.

Adding the ABLE MATCH program to the mix will allow more people to join the program and will improve the financial health of people with disabilities with lower incomes.