The ABLE Act, Federal Agency Regulations and Guidance
The following federal agency regulations and publications provide the law and essential policy and legal information about the intersection of benefits with Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts. Each resource confirms that ABLE account owners can save and invest significant funds while maintaining eligibility for federally funded, means-tested benefits.
Social Security Administration (SSA)
The Program Operations Manual System (POMS) link provides SSA policy on ABLE accounts (income, resources, distributions and verifications) for SSA internal staff workload processing. In addition to this POMS, SSA has published public facing information and guidance to enhance understanding of an ABLE account:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
This document provides guidance to the states confirming that an ABLE account will not affect eligibility for any type of Medicaid or Medicare.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
This final rule provides guidance on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility. The rule confirms that funds in an ABLE account will not be considered when determining eligibility.
U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education provides specific guidance on how ABLE accounts are treated when filling out the Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA). According to the 2024-2025 FAFSA guidelines, funds held in an ABLE account are not counted as assets when determining a student’s eligibility for federal student aid and distributions are not considered income.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
This document provides information on how funds in an ABLE account may interact with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) eligibility. This document also confirms that funds in an ABLE account will not be considered when determining eligibility and continued occupancy for HUD.
Section G.17 of HUD Notice PIH 2023-27 provides recent HUD Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) guidance which excludes ABLE accounts from being counted as an asset (resource). It also excludes from income any contributions deposited directly into the account by other than the account owner, the income generated from the account and the distributions.
U.S. Department of Treasury/USDT and Internal Revenue Service
The ABLE Act, signed into law on December 19, 2014, amended Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 to create ABLE accounts. For a comprehensive history of the ABLE Act, key policy, and legislative changes to date, please visit History of the ABLE Act.
The IRS published other helpful guidance to enhance understanding of ABLE accounts and tax advantages:
- People and Families Paying for Disability-related Expenses should Consider an ABLE Savings Account (12/13/2022)
Some videos may have outdated contribution limits. Use current ABLE Account Contribution Limits.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC updated their ABLE account information in the Investor Bulletin. Most ABLE plans offer an option to save and to invest in options within an ABLE plan. The SEC protects the public who rely on investing to secure their financial futures. The SEC’s website also includes basics, complimentary financial tools and calculators and other resources for individual investors such as finding and selecting professional, if needed, at Investor.gov.
Municipal Securities Rule Making Board (MSRB)
The MSRB is an agency overseen by Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Their role, how ABLE programs work, and the protections afforded to investors and individuals, is included in their Investor’s Guide to ABLE Programs. The MSRB also provided guidance to dealers and municipal advisors related to ABLE accounts in these rules: MSRB Rule D-12, MSRB Rules G-42, MSRB Rule G-44 and MSRB Rule G-45.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
To date, the VA has not released specific policies regarding ABLE accounts and how they impact Veterans’ service-connected disability benefits or needs-based disability pensions. Existing statutory exclusions for income and resources predate the ABLE Act; however, they include provisions for excluding any amount designated by statute as not countable, even if it is not explicitly listed. Once the VA issues ABLE specific policy, it will be posted in this section.
Information updated 8/22/24