NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson said his office is working with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services and Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities to increase awareness of Kansas ABLE Accounts for those on the IDD waiver waitlist.
"Of the people that we have on the Intellectual and Developmental Disability waitlist, those that have ABLE accounts have found them to be very useful," Johnson said. "The special sauce really is the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities. They are the ones that brought the energy, the idea and the resources to say, let's reach out through our government entity, that is in touch with and working to serve all the groups and has the networks with the providers and then the Treasurer's Office on the back end to actually help people open the accounts."
The ABLE accounts are important because they won’t impact the means-tested benefits critical to many with disabilities.
"Those accounts are under the 529 section, but are for those with disabilities, where they can save on their own and not be constrained by the $2000 asset limitation to get their SSI benefits," Johnson said. "This allows them to achieve a level of financial independence that is otherwise not available."
The current number of ABLE accounts in Kansas is about 1800. There are more than that many people on the IDD waitlist alone.
"It won't work for everyone," Johnson said. "Realistically, we could increase the accounts by 50 or 100 percent just from that waitlist."
Find out more about ABLE accounts at https://kansascash.ks.gov/able_savings.html.
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