ABLE account for disabled adult child SSI benefits, Digi Mart USA News: A 66-year-old father with $650,000 in retirement savings wanted to set money aside for his adult son, who has a disability and receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. According to the publisher’s article by David Beren for 24/7 Wall St., the father learned that if his son holds more than $2,000 in countable savings, the SSI check can stop, and that limit does not rise in 2027.
To avoid that problem, the father is opening an ABLE account, a tax-advantaged savings account for people with disabilities that allows the son to keep money without losing benefits. The article reports SSI pays up to $994 a month in 2026, rising to $1,029 in 2027 after a 3.6% cost-of-living increase, and that this check plus Medicaid covers rent, food and health care for many adults with disabilities.
Eligibility depends on the son receiving SSI or Social Security disability benefits and having a disability that began before age 46. The article says the IRS states that Secure 2.0 raised this cutoff from age 26 to age 46 beginning in 2026, so more adults may qualify.
The article’s illustration assumes the father contributes the full $20,000 each year and the account earns 5% annually. Under that scenario, the balance would be about $86,000 after four years and about $111,000 after five years, which is above the SSI limit.
The suggested plan is to fund the account for about four years and have the son spend on qualified needs, such as a reliable car, therapy or a laptop, to keep the balance under $100,000.
For larger amounts, the article says an ABLE account is too small for an inheritance. Remaining savings would instead go into a special needs trust managed by a trustee, with the trust, rather than the son, named as beneficiary on the IRA and life insurance.
The article notes that inherited IRAs generally must be emptied within ten years, but a disabled beneficiary is an exception, and that the IRS calls this “a complicated area of the tax law.”
The article advises consulting a lawyer who specializes in special needs planning, since a poorly drafted trust could be treated as the son’s own money. It also warns that leaving money directly to the son through a will or beneficiary form could push him past the $2,000 limit and cut off SSI and Medicaid until the funds are spent down.
The article recommends opening the ABLE account and reviewing all beneficiary forms, including old 401(k)s and life policies. The source was not independently verified.
