A new program will help disabled Rhode Islanders save money in a tax free investment account without risking their federal and state benefits. The program will allow the disabled to set aside money for additional disability-related expenses.
Here’s the problem: People with disabilities who receive state or federal benefits to pay for health care and other expenses can’t have more than two thousand dollars in their bank account. State Treasurer Seth Magaziner explains.
“If you amass more than a couple thousand dollars in assets at any one time, those federal benefits shut off. And it can happen very quickly. And it leaves many young people who have a disability in this perpetual state of vulnerability.”
Vulnerability – or poverty. Thanks to recently pass legislation, now people with disabilities will be able to put money into something called an ABLE account that will let them save up to $14-thousand dollars a year or $100-thousand before social security benefits shut off.
The money is invested in an account with a company called Acensus, based in Warwick. The account carries a point-three-percent fee. By Spring the accounts will come with debit cards to use for disability-related necessities other benefit programs don’t cover.
