Special Needs Savings Accounts Approved in the USA

Victory in the United States for parents and people with disabilities. Why do we not have the same introduced here in Ireland?

The National Parents and Sibling Alliance in Ireland, and a number of parent advocates have long been calling for a special savings scheme to be introduced in Ireland for disabled persons. Very encouraging news has come from the United States over the last few days which should give more encouragement for advocates here.

The U.S. Senate passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. The passing of this Act allows for savings accounts for individuals with disabilities for certain expenses, like education, housing, and transportation, without jeopardising certain important federal benefits. The funds saved in this accounts can be another tool in planning for the lifetime support needs of an individual with disabilities. Up to $14,000 per annum can be put into an ABLE account. Each account has a cap of $100,000.

We now call on the Irish government to implement something similar in this country so that parents can plan for the future care needs (and other needs) of their disabled child. The special savings account would not count as means regarding obtaining state benefits and thereby insulate them from loss of benefits , upon which they rely.

For more information please go to the website of American Autism Society