Treasurer Stacy Garrity Announces Fee Cut for PA ABLE Account Owners
PA ABLE allows people with disabilities to save without losing access to important benefits
Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity today announced another fee cut for PA ABLE account owners, who are seeing a lower annual account maintenance fee on their October statements.
PA ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts help Pennsylvanians with disabilities and their families save for disability-related expenses without impacting important benefits. This is the fifth time PA ABLE fees have been reduced since Treasurer Garrity took office.
“PA ABLE accounts are powerful tools to help people with disabilities live more independently and save for the future. Nearly 10,000 Pennsylvanians have opened PA ABLE accounts, and they’ve saved more than $135 million. I will always work to make this tremendous program even better for them. One great way to do that is to reduce fees to help their savings go even further.”
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity
This fee reduction is the result of the National ABLE Alliance surpassing 45,000 funded ABLE accounts. Pennsylvania is the largest Alliance member with 9,851 accounts, nearly 20 percent of the total, and more than $138 million in assets, approximately 25 percent of all Alliance assets. After the $2 fee reduction, PA ABLE annual account maintenance fees are now $31 for those who receive statements electronically and $56 for those who choose to receive paper statements.
Starting in 2025, a new tax credit will encourage businesses to support their employees saving with PA ABLE. Pennsylvania employers will be eligible for a 25 percent tax credit on matching employer contributions of up to $500 per employee per year. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to create this tax credit.
Beginning on January 1, 2026, access to ABLE programs will be greatly expanded thanks to the federal ABLE Age Adjustment Act. Currently, to be eligible to save with an ABLE program, a person’s disability must onset prior to their 26th birthday. Under the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, the onset age will increase to 46, expanding ABLE access to millions more Americans, including one million Veterans.
PA ABLE has several investment options to choose from, including a checking account with debit card, and allows up to $18,000 in savings annually. No federal or state income tax is paid on account growth when used for qualified expenses. Funds are easy to access and may be used for a wide range of expenses, such as healthcare, housing, education, assistive technology, adaptive vehicles, and more.
ABLE account owners who are employed may be eligible to contribute more every year through ABLE to Work, which provides additional employment opportunities and earning potential.
Treasurer Garrity is also working to strengthen ABLE programs nationwide. She is the inaugural chair of the ABLE Savings Plans Network, an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers, which works to increase awareness and encourage growth of ABLE programs.
States were authorized to create ABLE programs with the passage of federal ABLE legislation in 2014, spearheaded by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). At the state level, PA ABLE was enacted in 2016 with the leadership of Senator Lisa Baker (R-20).
To learn more about PA ABLE, and how to start saving, visit paable.gov, email info@paable.gov or call 855-529-2253.