FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2024

Contact:?Ron Leix, Treasury, 517-335-2167

Campaign to raise awareness of savings plan for people with disabilities and their families focuses on upcoming Able to Save Month

First 200 new MiABLE accounts opened in April will get up to a $100 match; free webinar on March 20 will provide MIABLE details

LANSING ? With Able to Save Month fast approaching, the first 200 people who open an eligible MiABLE disability savings account during April will receive up to a $100 match as part of an ongoing campaign to promote the savings and investment program.

?We are doubling down on our statewide campaign to encourage more Michiganders with disabilities to open a MiABLE account,? said R. Scott de Varona, MiABLE program director. ?MiABLE is a fantastic program and we need to broaden awareness so that everyone out there knows it is available to them.?

Approximately 500,000 individuals in Michigan are eligible to open MiABLE accounts, but only about 1% of that number are currently enrolled statewide.

For those who want to learn more about the benefits of MiABLE, de Varona recommended attending an upcoming webinar. The next hourlong webinar will take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 20. To register for the MiABLE webinar, click here.

Established in Michigan in 2015, MiABLE is a disability savings program administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury. It stands for Michigan Achieving a Better Life Experience and was designed to help ease the financial burden challenging people with disabilities and their families.?MiABLE accounts help people with disabilities save for current and future expenses without jeopardizing government assistance like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

In Michigan and nationally, a $2,000 federal asset limit is imposed on people with disabilities who receive government benefits.

MiABLE lets people who became disabled before age 26 save up to $18,000 annually and make their own decisions about how to spend their money on qualified disability expenses (QDE) related to health and wellness, housing, transportation, employment training, technology and more. Beyond that limit, beneficiaries who are employed can contribute an amount equal to their current-year gross income, up to another $14,580.

Nicole Derusha-Mackey of Genesee County is a big fan of MiABLE and the financial freedom it has given her in saving for her 19-year-old son, Devin, who was diagnosed with Barth syndrome ? a rare disease affecting 1 out of every 300,000 to 400,000 people worldwide.

Before Devin?s diagnosis, Derusha-Mackey had been putting money in a college fund. Now, she?s using MiABLE to save for Devin?s future.

A MiABLE account broadens the way the money can be used, including education. Derusha-Mackey?s MiABLE account has helped pay for travel expenses for Devin to go to medical appointments at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, which is the only clinic in the United States that treats Barth syndrome. He also recently bought a mobility scooter.

Becoming a MiABLE account owner is simple. It generally takes about 15 minutes and requires about the same effort and information as opening a bank account. For more information or to open a MiABLE account online, go to www.MiABLE.org.

MiABLE also allows family members, guardians, powers of attorney and others to open and manage an account on behalf of a person with a disability. Earnings on MiABLE savings grow tax-free, and no federal or state tax is owed on withdrawals used to pay for qualified disability expenses.

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