JEFFERSON CITY – MO ABLE – or Achieving a Better Life Experience – offers people with disabilities, or their families, an opportunity to save for the future, Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick told Missouri Press Association members.

“The money in those accounts does not count for means testing or asset limits for people with disabilities and their government benefits,” he said. “It’s a game-changer for those people who might want to try to work, but are afraid to, because the way means testing works is, if you have more than $2,000 in assets, that can have you removed from Medicaid and SSI (Social Security income).”

More people need to know they are able to benefit from putting their money into the tax-free saving plan, Fitzpatrick said.

The program is about three years old, and last year the number of accounts increased by 44%. Part of the growth involved Fitzpatrick’s office making sure people in sheltered workshops, including operators and clients, learned about MO ABLE.

Fitzpatrick said the program is a benefit to his family. He and his wife have twin 4-year-olds with a chromosomal abnormality and autism that may someday lead them to sheltered workshops.

“It’s a program that means a lot to me personally,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s an opportunity for me to prepare for their future as my family grows up.”

Launched in 2017, MO ABLE allows individuals with disabilities and their families to save up to $15,000 per year, tax-free, without losing federal benefits.

For more information about the MO ABLE program and to take an eligibility quiz, visit moable.com.