Editorial: Tax-deferred savings offers better future for workers with disabilities

Lost amid the constant stream of news coming out of Washington this week was good news for a change coming out of Springfield.

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs on Monday announced the state was launching a new program aimed at encouraging disabled people to invest and save money tax-exempt to help pay for certain expenses without jeopardizing federal disability benefits.

The program known as National ABLE (Achieving for a Better Life Experience) was approved by Congress in 2014. It's up to states to implement their own versions of it - Illinois passed its own law in 2015.

Frerichs is to be commended for spearheading this program here and in partnership with 12 other states. It is similar to the state's 529 college savings program which his office also administers.

"We help families save their own money," Frerichs said in announcing the program.

And in an article for the Chicago Tribune, Frerichs put the new program in perspective for a state still trying to pass a budget.

"I think especially when we've gone nearly two years without any budget certainty and social service providers are closing their doors, it's important we use our office to help give families tools they need to invest in themselves."

To qualify for an ABLE account, a beneficiary must have developed his or her disability before age 26. Before this savings avenue, families had to keep any savings below $2,000 and remain below the federal poverty line or risk losing federal disability income. Under the new law, beneficiaries can save up to $14,000 annually. Illinois law limits the total amount to $350,000.

Considering the high cost of taking care of a disabled child, this is a good step in helping to ease that burden.

In an interview with our editorial board last year, Frerichs said the ABLE program addresses one of the greatest fears parents of disabled children have - that they will outlive their children and resources won't be available to take care of them and keep them out of poverty.

A report released last month by the ABLE National Resource Center summarized the significance of this program: "This is the first time Congress recognized that families raising a child with a disability and working-age adults with disabilities have additional significant costs associated with living with a disability."

This is one area that all sides in the partisan divide in this state and country can agree is a positive step forward.