Quick links

Washington State ABLE Savings Plan

Not rated

Our rating

WA resident benefits

The Washington State ABLE Savings Plan is established pursuant to the ABLE Act and the Washington Achieving a Better Life Experience Act ("The Washington Act"). The plan is designed to be a "qualified ABLE program", which status permits a beneficiary of an ABLE account established under the plan to make tax-free withdrawals to pay for qualified disability expenses under certain circumstances.

OVERVIEW

Program type

ABLE Savings Plan

Investment manager

Sellwood Consulting, LLC

Inception

2018

State agency

Governing Board of the Washington Achieving a Better Life Experience Program

Program manager

Sumday Administration, LLC

Manager contract term

MORE INFORMATION

Eligibility

State residency requirements:

Yes

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

An account may be opened by a qualified beneficiary under section 529A or by an authorized legal representative 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 $17,000 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 2023, this amount is $14,580. The designated beneficiary is not, however, eligible to make this additional contribution if their employer contributes to a workplace retirement plan on their behalf.

The maximum account balance cannot exceed $500,000. ABLE accounts that have reached the limit may continue to accrue earnings but can not continue to accept contributions.

Minimum contributions:

The minimum initial contribution amount is $25 per ABLE account. The minimum subsequent contribution amount is $10 per ABLE account.

Investment Options

Target-Risk Options:

Select among three Investment Options: ABLE Conservative, ABLE Moderate and ABLE Aggressive.

Bank Money Market Investment / Checking Option:

The Cash Option deposits 100% of its funds into an FDIC-insured account with The Bank of New York Mellon

Fees & Expenses

Enrollment or application fee:

None

Account maintenance fee:

$35 annually; $10 additional annual fee for printing and mailing paper documents

Program management fees:

Administrative fee of 0.30%

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Ranges from 0.0538% to 0.0702%

Total asset-based expense ratio:

0.30% to 0.3702% depending on the selected investment option

Fees or restrictions on the number of disbursements

There is a $2.50 fee on each paper check disbursement, as well as a $15 fee on outgoing wires, as well as for the re-issue of disbursement checks.

Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

None

State tax deduction or credit for contributions:

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

State tax recapture provisions:

None

State tax treatment of qualified distributions:

There is no state income tax on qualified withdrawals or rollovers.

State tax treatment of rollovers:

There is no state income tax on qualified withdrawals or rollovers.

Medicaid eligibility

Balances in the ABLE account of $100,000 or less are disregarded for purposes of determinations of the Beneficiary's eligibility for benefits under the SSI program. The portion of any ABLE account balance that exceeds $100,000 is taken into account for purposes of determinations of the beneficiary's eligibility for SSI benefits.

Medicaid recapture provisions

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

Beneficiaries can transfer funds from an account onto a prepaid card and use the card to pay for qualified disability expenses. There are no transaction fees but a monthly fee of $1.25 is assessed.

Statutory protection of an account from creditors:

Distributions & Terminations

To whom are distributions made payable:

A withdrawal may be made payable to a designated beneficiary or the designated beneficiary's legal representative.

Account Changes

Policy regarding participant/owner changes:

A change in the beneficiary of an ABLE account is not treated as a distribution and is not subject to federal gift or GST taxes if the new beneficiary is an eligible individual and a sibling of the current beneficiary. However, if the new beneficiary is not a sibling of the current beneficiary, the change is treated as a non-qualified withdrawal by the current beneficiary and may have federal gift tax or GST tax consequences.

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://www.washingtonstateable.com/

Telephone:

1-844-600-2253

Twitter

https://twitter.com/wa_able

Social Media

ABLE WA

A good place to start:

See the best 529 plans, personalized for you

Helping families save for college since 1999

Key Resources

Our Company

Join our email list

The latest articles and tips to help parents stay on track with saving and paying for college, delivered to your inbox every week.

Frequently featured in:

Saving For College is an unbiased, independent resource for parents and financial professionals, providing them with information and tools to understand the benefits of 529 college savings plans and how to meet the challenge of increasing college costs.