Dear Editor:
When your child or loved one has an intellectual or developmental disability, you spend a lot of time worrying about the future. That is why I was very grateful that Congress passed and the President recently signed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act also known as the ABLE Act. This legislation will allow individuals and families to save for long-term needs without jeopardizing an individual’s eligibility for critical federal entitlement programs like Medicaid. ABLE accounts will be set up similarly to 529 accounts that many families use to save for a child’s college education. The tax-advantaged savings accounts made possible by the ABLE Act can be used to pay toward a variety of needs including transportation, housing, employment support and assistive technology.
My daughter Annika, who has developmental disabilities, is a pre-teen now but before I turn around she’ll be an adult. It gives me peace of mind to know that in the near future ABLE accounts will be among the planning tools and resources at my disposal for Annika’s future. As Board President for The Arc of New Jersey, I know many other excited families who are eager to utilize these accounts. A lot of hard work over the course of many years went into making the ABLE Act a reality. I want to thank the members of the New Jersey congressional delegation who sponsored and supported the bill and President Obama for signing it.
Robert Hage,
Board President, The Arc of New Jersey
(Robert Hage is father to Annika, a young woman with developmental disabilities, and the Board President for The Arc of New Jersey. He is a Pennington resident.)