Beginning January 1, 2026, an estimated 6.1 million more Americans will be eligible to open and contribute to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts, according to National Disability Institute.
ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts designed for Americans with disabilities. Created by Congress in 2014, ABLE accounts allow beneficiaries to save for qualified expenses like education, housing, health care and more without affecting their Medicaid or Social Security income eligibility.
Previously, beneficiaries had to have a qualifying medical condition that began before their 26th birthday, but that cut-off rises to age 46 as of January 1 due to the ABLE Age Adjustment Act passed in 2022. The expanded age requirement brings the total number of Americans eligible to open ABLE accounts up to around 14 million, per NDI’s estimates.
ABLE accounts are “a powerful wealth planning, financial and tax planning vehicle,” Juliana Crist, head of ABLE programs at Vestwell, a financial technology company that manages 19 of the country’s ABLE plans, tells CNBC Make It. Crist describes it as “kind of a super-powered Roth” individual retirement account.
As with Roth IRAs, contributions to ABLE accounts are made with after-tax dollars. Beneficiaries can invest the money in a portfolio which grows tax-free, and qualified withdrawals are not subject to income taxes. But with ABLE accounts, beneficiaries can set aside more money per year and can use the funds whenever they want, rather than needing to wait until they hit a certain age.
