Columbia News

U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt's legislation, the Ensuring Nationwide Access to Better Life Experience (ENABLE) Act, has been signed into law as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. This new law supports individuals with disabilities and their families by permanently enshrining key provisions related to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts, which were set to expire at the end of 2025.

Currently, there are over 162,000 ABLE accounts in use. These accounts allow individuals with disabilities and their families to save and invest through tax-free savings accounts without affecting eligibility for federal programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

"Individuals with disabilities and their families deserve stability and financial security as they invest and plan for the future," said Senator Schmitt. "My legislation, the ENABLE Act, provides much-needed certainty to families and Missourians with disabilities by permanently expanding key provisions in ABLE accounts that incentivize and promote savings and investment opportunities without jeopardizing the federal assistance they need."

Three specific provisions related to ABLE accounts were scheduled to expire at the end of 2025:

1. **ABLE to Work**: Allows employed individuals with disabilities to contribute an additional amount to their ABLE account, not exceeding either the prior year’s federal poverty level for a one-person household ($15,060 in 2024) or their yearly compensation.

2. **ABLE Saver’s Credit**: Offers a nonrefundable saver’s credit of up to $1,000 for qualified contributions made by individuals with disabilities to their ABLE account.

3. **529 to ABLE rollover**: Permits rollovers from a 529 education savings account to an ABLE account up to the annual contribution limit without being subject to income taxation.

Since its inception, individuals using ABLE accounts have saved $1.74 billion annually—a figure demonstrating this program's success.

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek expressed support for the act: “As administrator of the Missouri Achieving a Better Life Experience (MOABLE) Program, I applaud Senator Schmitt for championing the ENABLE Act... This is a tremendous step forward for families across Missouri—and for thousands of MOABLE participants who rely on this program."

The ENABLE Act has received backing from various organizations including Autism Speaks, Edward Jones, Microsoft, The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers (NAIFA), Cure SMA, Muscular Dystrophy Association among others.