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DC ABLE

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DC resident benefits

The DC ABLE Program is offered through the National ABLE Alliance. The program is created under the District of Columbia's ABLE Program Trust Establishment Act of 2015 to authorize the establishment of savings accounts empowering individuals with a disability and their families to save private funds to support the individual with a disability and to provide guidelines for the maintenance of such accounts.

OVERVIEW

Program type

ABLE Savings plan

Investment manager

BlackRock, Capital Group, Fifth Third Bank, Schwab and Vanguard as the investment managers or providers of their respective Underlying Investments.

Inception

2017

State agency

Office of the State Treasurer

Program manager

Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC

Manager contract term

MORE INFORMATION

Eligibility

State residency requirements:

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

An account owner must be an eligible individual under Section 529A as well as a U.S. Citizen or resident alien with a SSI/TIN number and valid permanent U.S. street address.

Program restrictions:

To be eligible for an ABLE savings plan, an individual must have been diagnosed with a disability before age 26, and be eligible to receive benefits under Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Individuals who are not receiving SSI and/or SSDI may still be eligible if they meet the age requirement and have been diagnosed by a licensed physician and received a letter of certification.

Did you know?

The plan can be used to pay for qualified disability expenses.
This can include education, job training and support, healthcare and financial management.
Savings in an ABLE account will not impact eligibility to receive government benefits.
The first $100,000 is exempt from the Supplemental Security Income limit, and beneficiaries will continue to receive Medicaid regardless of account size.
Residents are not limited to investing in their own state's ABLE plan.
Another state may offer a plan with better suited investment options, lower fees or preferred features.
Visit this plan's website to learn more.

Contributions

Maximum contributions:

Annual contribution limit is currently $19,000 from all sources. If the beneficiary works, the beneficiary can also contribute part, or all, of their income to their ABLE account. This additional contribution is limited to the poverty-line amount for a one-person household. For 2025, this amount is $15,060. The designated beneficiary is not, however, eligible to make this additional contribution if their employer contributes to a workplace retirement plan on their behalf.

ABLE account beneficiaries can qualify for the Saver's Credit based on contributions they make to their ABLE accounts. Up to $2,000 of these contributions may qualify for this special credit designed to help low- and moderate-income workers.

The assets in an account cannot exceed the account balance limit of $500,000.

Minimum contributions:

The initial and additional contribution minimum is $25.

Investment Options

Target-Risk Options:

Select among 7 portfolio options: Aggressive Option, Moderately Aggressive Option, Growth Option, Moderate Option, Moderately Conservative Option, Conservative Option or Money Market Option.

Bank Money Market Investment / Checking Option:

A checking option with Fifth Third Bank, which invests 100% of its assets in an FDIC-insured checking account.

Fees & Expenses

Enrollment or application fee:

None

Account maintenance fee:

$56, assessed at $14 per calendar quarter. The Annual Account Maintenance Fee will be $31.00 if Electronic Delivery is established for the Account, and will be withdrawn from the Account in the amount of $7.75 quarterly. The Plan may also reduce the Annual Account Maintenance Fee an additional $5.00 per year if the Account Owner or Authorized Individual is a resident of the State.

$2 monthly service charge for investments in the Checking Option, waived for accounts with an average daily balance of more than $250.

Program management fees:

0.26%; none for the Checking Option

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Ranges from 0.05% to 0.10%, depending on the investment option chosen; none for the Checking Option

Total asset-based expense ratio:

0.31% - 0.36%, depending on the investment option chosen; none for the Checking Option

Fees or restrictions on the number of disbursements

None, but a $25 fee applies to all outgoing wires and priority delivery service

Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

None

State tax deduction or credit for contributions:

None

State tax recapture provisions:

None

State tax treatment of qualified distributions:

There are no District of Columbia income taxes due on investment earnings in an account in DC ABLE when used to pay for qualified disability expenses.

State tax treatment of rollovers:

The account owner will not be required to include any amount in computing D.C. taxable income as a result of a transfer of amounts from an account owner to the account of a different qualifying account owner, provided that in each case the new account owner is an eligible individual and a member of the family of the replaced account owner and the transfers occur either directly or by deposit to the new account in DC ABLE within 60 days of the withdrawal from the prior account.

Medicaid eligibility

The CMS guidance can be found at Implications of the ABLE Act for State Medicaid Programs on the CMS website. Please consult with your state's Medicaid office with any additional questions.

Medicaid recapture provisions

Under Section 529A, following the death of the account owner, any state may file a claim against the account owner or the account itself for the amount of the total medical assistance paid for the account owner under the state's Medicaid plan after the establishment of the account (or any ABLE account from which amounts were rolled or transferred to the current account). The amount paid in satisfaction of such a claim is not a taxable withdrawal from the account. Further, the amount is to be paid only after the payment of all outstanding payments due for the qualified disability expenses of the account owner and is to be reduced by the amount of all premiums paid by or on behalf of the account owner to a Medicaid Buy-In program under that state's Medicaid plan.

Is there a debit card/ purchasing card available, and if so, at what cost?

Investors in the Checking Option may use a debit card to access funds.

Statutory protection of an account from creditors:

Distributions & Terminations

To whom are distributions made payable:

Withdrawals will be sent by check or ACH to the account owner at the address on the account or a third party designated by the account owner.

Account Changes

Policy regarding participant/owner changes:

Accepts requests to transfer account ownership provided the appropriate form and any additional requested documentation is submitted to the Plan.

Documents, Access & Reporting

Does participant have online password-protected access to account?

Yes

Can the complete enrollment process including funding be done online?

Yes

Documents and other services accessible or downloadable on the program's public Web site:

Contact

Website:

https://dc.savewithable.com

Telephone:

888.609.3458

Email:

dc.clientservice@savewithable.com

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