News and Updates from the Illinois State Treasurer's ABLE Plan
Carla Vassilos is a busy wife and mom of twin boys. She is also an IL ABLE Account Owner thanks to the recent expansion in the ABLE age eligibility criteria making ABLE accounts available to people whose disabilities began before age 46 (up from before age 26). accessABLE News & Updates editors connected with Carla to learn how her IL ABLE Account helps her put money aside for her disability expenses.
Read More “Account Owner Shares Her IL ABLE Age Adjustment Story”
Millions More Now ABLE-Eligible
New IL ABLE Account Owners, the Chicago Lighthouse, Access Living and Professor Harold Pollak of the University of Chicago joined Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs to celebrate ABLE age expansion at a March 9 news conference.
Hello! I’m Elizabeth Hamilton, the IL ABLE team’s new Enrollment Specialist.
I am here to support you on your pathway to opening an IL ABLE Account for yourself or for someone with a disability that you assist.
Know Before You Go!
Going through the process of determination or re-determination of Medicaid benefits with the Illinois Department of Human Services is an experience that we all know can be stressful for families. So, if you own or manage an IL ABLE Account, know that Medicaid must not count ABLE Account assets as a resource in determining or re-determining Medicaid benefits.
Great news! Account Owners can save more in 2026! The Annual Contribution Limit for IL ABLE Accounts is increasing to $20,000.
Did your disability begin before your 46th birthday? Starting January 1, you may be eligible to own an IL ABLE Account and benefit from these 4 ABLE features.
Is Your Corporate Disability Employee Resource Group Ready?
If the company you work for has a disability business or employee resource group, members should know about the coming ABLE eligibility expansion. That’s because many employees acquired a disability before age 46 (not before age 26, the current eligibility criteria) and they may soon be eligible to open a tax-advantaged ABLE account.
A shout out this month to workers with disabilities! We celebrate with you on this, the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). “Celebrating Value and Talent” raises awareness about disability employment and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.
Read More “Celebrating 80 Years of National Disability Employment Awareness Month”
Get Ready for ABLE Age Adjustment
On January 1, 2026, the age of disability onset criteria to own an IL ABLE Account will expand to include people who acquired their disability before age 46. (The current criteria is disability onset before age 26.) Approximately 250,000 more Illinoisans will become eligible to own a tax-advantaged IL ABLE Account to start saving and investing for disability-related expenses.
Parents of a child with a disability are thinking ahead.
Alysia Townsend, parent of IL ABLE Account Owner Etienne contributes to IL ABLE Account to save for her son’s adult life. “I didn’t need to immediately focus on spending ABLE money around certain needs,” said Townsend in a recent interview with Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering stories about education. “I already had those needs met. As he gets older he needs more things and different things.”