Thousands more Illinoisans with disabilities now have access to savings
accounts
[March 12, 2026]
By Nikoel Hytrek and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR
SPRINGFIELD — Approximately a quarter-million more Illinoisans with a
disability are now eligible for savings accounts that allow them to save
and invest money to improve their quality of life without risking their
federal benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.
As of Jan. 1, Achieving a Better Life Experience accounts, or ABLE
accounts, are available to people who acquired their disability before
the age of 46. Distributions from these accounts are tax-free as long as
the money is used for disability-related expenses.
The expanded program now includes approximately 6 million Americans and
800,000 veterans.
“I think this is a gamechanger for a lot of people,” Illinois Treasurer
Mike Frerichs said at a news conference this week.
Account owners in Illinois may:
Be able to take state income tax deducations up to $10,000 if filing as
an individual.
Save and invest up to $20,000 a year. If they’re working, they can add
up to $35,650 a year.
Contribute up to $100,000 without affecting federal benefits, and family
and friends can also contribute.
Before the ABLE program, Frerichs said, families told him they worried
about saving and investing to ensure their children with disabilities
would have financial security in the future because of the risk they
might lose their benefits.
“We created a system that put parents in horrible positions but now we
have a solution that allows them to do more long-term planning and to
truly set their kids up for a better life experience,” he said.
The ABLE program was created by federal law in 2014, and the age
adjustment passed in 2022 and went into effect this year. Before 2014,
people with disabilities were unable to have assets worth more than
$2,000 without losing access to benefits like SSI and Medicaid.
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Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs has announced expanded eligibility
for ABLE accounts, which allow people with disabilities to save and
invest money without risking their federal benefits. (Capitol News
Illinois file photo)
Martha Younger-White, who manages employment services and
rehabilitation programs for Lighthouse Illinois, said many of
Lighthouse’s clients hadn’t qualified for the ABLE program because
their conditions — like glaucoma and diabetes — happened later in
life.
“Many of our clients need the advantages of assistive technology,
which is expensive, and in some ways they’d have to choose maybe
between their transportation or their health care,” she said. “This
will improve their health, their independence and quality of life.”
“What I’ve learned and what I think so many people with disabilities
know is that living with a disability just costs more,” said
Stephanie Kanter, director of the Illinois ABLE program, at the news
conference.
Kanter acquired her disability when she was 26, only a few months
beyond the original cutoff for eligibility for these accounts. She
said there were multiple ways an ABLE account could have helped her
pay for expenses such as modifying her home and car for wheelchair
accessibility.
“Before ABLE and before becoming an account owner, if I had a large
expense in particular, I had to ask myself where that money was
going to come from,” she said. If she couldn’t come up with the
money, she might have to go without something that would make her
life better.
“With my account, I can now start saving and investing for these
types of expenses,” Kanter said. “I already know what I’m starting
to save for.”
To open an ABLE account, or to get more information, eligible and
authorized Illinoisans can go to
illinoisable.com. |
