Casey Bill to Expand Savings Accounts for People with Disabilities Passes Senate

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is announcing that his ABLE Age Adjustment Act has passed the Senate via the Fiscal Year 2023 spending bill. Senator Casey’s ABLE Act, signed into law in 2014, makes it possible for people who acquired their disability before turning 26 to save money without risking the loss of their federal disability benefits. His bipartisan ABLE Age Adjustment Act would provide 6.2 million additional Americans, including more than one million veterans, the opportunity to open an ABLE account and save for the future by extending access to people who acquired their disability between 26 and 46 years of age.

“For years, millions of people with disabilities in this country were barred from saving for the future, which meant many people couldn’t save for a home, purchase needed assistive technology, or save for an accessible car. That is why I worked to create ABLE, to knock down a barrier that people with disabilities face as they work to improve their lives. My ABLE Age Adjustment Act builds on that success and expands access to these life-changing ABLE savings accounts for millions more Americans. I am proud that this bill has passed the Senate and is on its way to making progress and advancing equity for people with disabilities,” said Senator Casey.

Approximately 1 out of 4 adults in the U.S. has a disability. People with disabilities across the Nation have half the rate of workforce participation as the non-disabled population and are more than twice as likely to be living in poverty compared to the general population. There are almost 120,000 ABLE account holders in the United States—these accounts contain over $1.1 billion in assets for an average account size of nearly $9,300. 

Prior to the passage of ABLE, individuals could not accumulate more than $2,000 in assets such as a savings or retirement account without potentially losing their federal benefits. Now individuals can open an ABLE account in 43 states and the District of Columbia, and contribute up to $15,000 a year and have a total of up to $100,000 in their account without risking the loss of federal disability benefits. The savings can be used for disability related expenses including home modifications, education, transportation, and assistive technology.

In August 2022, Senator Casey, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, held an Aging Committee field hearing entitled “Saving with ABLE: Financial Security for Pennsylvanians with Disabilities.” The hearing, held at the University of Pittsburgh, highlighted how Senator Casey’s ABLE Act is helping hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities.

The ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S. 331) is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), John Boozman (R-AR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Tom Carper (D-DE). The FY23 spending bill will now go to the House of Representatives before heading to the President’s desk for final passage.

Read more about the ABLE Age Adjustment Act here.