Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Federal, exists in every state

An ABLE account for money in your child’s name

A savings account for disability-related expenses that does not count against SSI’s $2,000 limit, up to $100,000.

What it is

A savings account for disability-related expenses that does not count against SSI’s $2,000 limit, up to $100,000.

This matters if you apply for SSI and someone gives money to your child or sets up a fundraiser in their name. Social Security checks the child’s own money against $2,000 at the start of each month, and giving it away can stop benefits for up to 36 months. An ABLE account keeps up to $100,000 out of that test. SSI back pay above a threshold needs its own dedicated account, which ABLE does not replace.

Rules
  • Eligibility requires a qualifying disability that began before age 46 (from 2026). The annual base contribution limit is $20,000 in 2026, counting everyone’s contributions; investment fees and permitted-spending rules apply.
  • SSI back pay above six times the monthly rate for a child with a representative payee must go into a separate dedicated account with restricted spending; that is not the same as ABLE.
  • Money withdrawn for housing and kept into the next month can count for SSI; check timing.
What you get
  • A place for gifts, fundraiser money and savings in the child’s name that SSI does not count, up to $100,000.
  • Tax-free growth when spent on qualified disability expenses.
What it is not
  • ABLE is not a payment to your family. Ordinary income-based Medi-Cal has no savings test, so it does not require ABLE.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask Social Security or a benefits counselor how a deposit would be treated before moving money.
  2. Ask a participating state ABLE program about opening an account, fees and spending rules.

Social Security: ABLE accounts · Official page ↗

Before depositing
  • Moving income into the account does not erase the month it was received.
Good to know

If friends start a fundraiser, ask them to hold the money until you have asked Social Security or a benefits counselor how it will be counted, as income when received and as a resource if kept.

Other details
  • Anyone can contribute, up to the yearly limit.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If we apply for SSI and people want to give money to our child, should we set up an ABLE account first, and who can advise us?”

Why I’m asking: We want to protect any benefit that has a savings test before money is moved.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Open the account, direct donors and back pay into it, and keep the statements.

Your social worker

Flags the fundraising and back-pay traps and points you to the state plan.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
Social Security decides how the account is counted; the state plan opens it
Ask Social Security
“My child has an ABLE account. Can you note it on the SSI record, and confirm the balance is left out of the $2,000 test?”

How to apply

First step: Open the account with your state's ABLE plan (or any state's) before a fundraiser pays out, and give donors the deposit details.

  1. Open the account before the fundraiser pays out.
  2. Have donors pay into the account, not a checking account in the child's name.
  3. Tell Social Security the account number.

Where it starts: Open online with a state ABLE plan; tell Social Security the account exists

What to gather

  • The SSI award letter, or a doctor's statement that the disability began before 46
  • The child's Social Security number
  • The fundraiser's payout details

How long: An account opens online in days. Tell Social Security the same week.

What a yes looks like

An open account, donors paying into it, and Social Security's note that the balance is excluded.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A plan refusing the application over the disability proof: send the SSI award letter or the doctor's certification and apply again.

Watch out

  • Money withdrawn for rent or a mortgage and still in the bank the next month counts as savings again. Spend a housing withdrawal in the month you take it out.
  • The limit is $20,000 a year from everyone combined in 2026, not per donor. The ordinary $19,000 gift limit is a different number.
  • Gifts from others into the account are not your child's income. Money that was already your child's, like back pay or a settlement, is counted when it arrives, so ask Social Security how to route it.
  • The $20,000 limit is the 2026 base. An eligible working beneficiary has a separate additional allowance. A 529-to-ABLE rollover is still allowed and uses the base limit left after other contributions; it does not use the work addition.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $20,000 a year paid in by anyone in 2026. SSI ignores the first $100,000; Medicaid ignores the whole balance.

  • $20,000/year — Yearly contribution limit in 2026, from all contributors combined
  • $100,000 (up to and including) — Balance SSI ignores
  • $46 (from January 1, 2026) — The disability must have begun before this age

Legal protection: Money paid in by anyone else is not your child's income for SSI · Medicaid disregards every dollar in the account, earnings included · SSI excludes the balance up to $100,000

What it costs the family: State plan fees; ask the plan.

The eligibility facts, as published

Onset age
disability began before age 46 (tax years beginning after 2025)
Proof
SSI or Social Security disability entitlement, or a doctor's disability certification
Contributors
any person may contribute
One account per person
yes

Decisions this site cannot make: Eligibility of the beneficiary · Qualified disability expenses when money is spent

Expect friction on: Opening through a state plan · Spending must fit the qualified-expense rules

The trap: Taking a housing withdrawal and holding it. Money withdrawn for rent or a mortgage and still in the bank the next month counts as savings again. Spend it in the month you take it out.

What changes by state: Each state runs its own ABLE plan (California's is CalABLE) with its own fees and minimums, and you can open an account in another state's plan. The federal SSI and Medicaid rules are the same everywhere.

Where I read this

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