NCD Letter to SSA regarding ABLE Accounts

December 11, 2018

Nancy Berryhill
Acting Commissioner
Social Security Administration
200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Commissioner Berryhill,

I write on behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD) – an independent federal agency with the mission to advise the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policy issues – to thank you for sending a representative to participate in the October 5th roundtable discussion of federal agency responses to the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (“ABLE”) Act and to request a follow-up meeting between our staff and your staff in the very near term.

The ABLE Act creates tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities, funds in an ABLE account can be used to cover qualified expenses such as education, housing and transportation. These funds are meant to supplement benefits such as Medicaid, supplemental security income and other means-tested programs and therefore are not factored in as an “asset” for purposes of determining eligibility for such means-tested programs. Although ABLE Accounts have the potential to lift individuals out of poverty, participation in state ABLE programs has lagged behind expectations. Although there may be numerous reasons for this, anecdotally we know that some families have been given incorrect or confusing information about whether or not participation in ABLE could threaten their receipt of other critical federal benefits. This presents an opportunity for federal agencies to revisit their efforts to ensure that accurate information is disseminated to frontline staff and that they are making an effort not only to answer questions about ABLE in a meaningful, accurate and appropriate way but also, to the extent possible, that they are proactively getting information out to potentially eligible individuals and their families.

NCD was recently asked by Congress to serve,  “…as an interagency coordinator with respect to the ABLE Act to ensure consistency across federal agencies and programs.”1 This new charge stems from the fact that participation in state ABLE programs has, overall, been less than expected and this may be partly the result of inconsistent guidance provided to ABLE-eligible individuals and their families from federal agencies that administer needs-based assistance programs.  We appreciate your agency’s commitment to working with us to improve the implementation of ABLE by federal agencies across the board and to encouraging people with disabilities and their families to avail themselves of this opportunity to save money to pay for disability-related expenses allowed under the ABLE Act. 

At the October 5 meeting, the Social Security Administration (SSA) representatives shared ideas it had for proactive measures it could take to educate and inform its customers on the ABLE Act. Some of those measures suggested included the use of internal communication channels to promote ABLE to the general public, such as disseminating information via SSA’s website so that information is available to state offices and the public; creating ABLE TV slides for state offices with a script to educate so as to promote ABLE accounts. Additionally, SSA has tapped its national network of public affairs representatives and convened meetings with state ABLE coordinators. SSA has clearly been committed to the success of the ABLE Act since the beginning and we look forward to working with you and your agency to increase the number of people who are benefitting from this important program.

NCD conducts quarterly meetings across the country, and we will be holding information sessions regarding ABLE at each of these locations in the coming year. We will also gather feedback from stakeholders who have interacted with various federal agencies and bring information about their experiences back to you so that your agency can ensure that policies, procedures, guidance, and other activities pursued at the agency level can be calibrated and targeted to ensure that people with disabilities are able to benefit from this exciting opportunity to save money and avoid or lift themselves out of the long-term poverty that is the reality for far too many people with disabilities.2 We look forward to partnering with you in the coming year to make sure that ABLE can achieve the goals that Congress had in mind when they passed this groundbreaking legislation and meeting with you in the near term to discuss these opportunities.

Please have your staff respond to Phoebe Ball, NCD Legislative Affairs Specialist, at pball@ncd.gov, as soon as possible to schedule a meeting for December or January with NCD. Thank you in advance.

Respectfully,

Neil Romano
Chairman

1 H.R. Rep No. 115-862 (2018)

2 See National Council on Disability, National Disability Policy: A Progress Report - October 2017