10/07/2026
ABLE account or special needs trust? For a lot of families, the honest answer is both.
An ABLE account lets a person with a disability save and spend on qualified expenses while keeping Medicaid and, in most cases, SSI. It's flexible and the beneficiary can often manage it themselves, but contributions are capped each year, and SSI is suspended if the balance goes over $100,000. Starting in 2026, it's open to people whose disability began before age 46, up from 26.
A special needs trust has no annual contribution cap and no age-of-onset requirement. A trustee controls distributions, which often makes it a better choice for an inheritance, a settlement, or other larger assets. The type of trust matters: money that belongs to the person with a disability, like a personal injury settlement, goes into a different kind of trust (a first-party trust) than money left by family (a third-party trust).
The right mix depends on how much you're protecting, where the money comes from, and the right balance of independence and oversight for your loved one.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and ABLE accounts can be a useful tool for people who work: eligible working beneficiaries may be able to contribute more than the standard annual limit. Our decision guide walks through common questions for families.
