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ABLE United

ABLE Accounts encourage individuals with a disability and their families to save private funds to support health, independence, and quality of life. In July 2015, the State of Florida created Florida ABLE, Inc. (d/b/a ABLE United) a registered not-for-profit and direct support organization of the Florida Prepaid College Board to administer the ABLE United Program.


  • Program typeABLE Savings plan
  • Investment Manager
    BlackRock, Florida PRIME, The Vanguard Group, Inc., The Northern Trust Company.
  • Inception2016
  • State agency
    Florida Prepaid College Board
  • Program Manager
    ABLE United

Eligibility

State residency requirements:

State residency is only a requirement of the beneficiary at time of application.

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

An account may be opened by a Florida resident with a qualifying disability or an authorized administrator acting on his/her behalf.

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 $15,000 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 2018, this amount is $12,140. 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.

There is also a maximum account balance limit of $418,000. However, assets can grow beyond $418,000 due to investment earnings without violating the maximum account balance limit.

Minimum contributions:

None

Investment Options

Target-Risk Options:

Select among 3 predesigned portfolios: Conservative Portfolio, Moderate Portfolio and Growth Portfolio; or Build your own portfolio: Vanguard U.S. Bond Fund, Vanguard U.S. Stock Fund and BlackRock International Stock Fund

Bank Money Market Investment / Checking Option:

Florida PRIME Money Market Fund

Fees & Expenses

Enrollment or application fee:

None

Account maintenance fee:

None, additional $10/annually for optional paper correspondence.

Program management fees:

None

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Ranges from 0.035% to 0.29%, depending on the investment option chosen

Total asset-based expense ratio:

0.035% - 0.29%

Fees or restrictions on the number of disbursements

None

Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

None

State tax deduction or credit for contributions:

Not applicable. Florida does not have a personal income tax.

State tax recapture provisions:

Not applicable. Florida does not have a personal income tax.

State tax treatment of qualified distributions:

Not applicable. Florida does not have a personal income tax.

State tax treatment of rollovers:

Not applicable. Florida does not have a personal income tax.

Medicaid eligibility

Funds in an ABLE United account are disregarded for the purposes of determining Medicaid eligibility, even if the account balance exceeds $100,000 and/or SSI benefits are suspended.

Medicaid recapture provisions

If the beneficiary receives Medicaid benefits, upon the death of the beneficiary, a state may request reimbursement for Medicaid benefits paid after establishment of the ABLE United account and after all outstanding qualified disability expenses have been paid.

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

Not at this time.

Statutory protection of an account from creditors:

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Distributions & Terminations

To whom are distributions made payable:

A distribution may be made payable to the beneficiary, a custodian or a third party by submitting a request. The individual submitting the request is responsible for providing the correct information about the payee.

Account Changes

Policy regarding participant/owner changes:

During the lifetime of the beneficiary, part or all of the account balance may be transferred to an eligible individual who is a member of the family.

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:

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Contact

Website:

http://www.ableunited.com/

Telephone:

888-524-ABLE (2253)

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