FAQs

ABLE stands for the Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 and refers to savings and investment accounts eligible individuals with disabilities can own for the purpose of financing qualified disability expenses. IAble is Iowa’s dedicated ABLE program.

You can open an account with just $1. Each additional contribution can be as little as $1.

No. However, you should have a record of the doctor's signed diagnosis, a benefits verification letter from the Social Security Administration or other relevant documentation for verification, as needed.

No. You may still open an IAble account even if you are not an Iowa resident.

No. You're limited to one ABLE account, except in the case of a rollover from another qualified ABLE program. This extends beyond IAble to include accounts in other ABLE programs.

No. You will not lose, or lose eligibility for, federal benefits including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), any Medicaid programs, Medicare programs and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If you are an SSI recipient, you can save up to $100,000 in your IAble account and still receive your monthly SSI benefits. See the Plan Disclosure Booklet (PDF) for important details.

No. Eligibility is based on the person's disability and not salary or income.

Under Iowa law, most Medicaid recovery is not allowed. However, there are specific cases required by federal law where Medicaid must be recaptured. This includes situations where the account owner received Medicaid at the age of 55 or older, or the account owner received Medicaid for certain Long Term Support Services (LTSS) and were subject to Post-Eligibility Treatment of Income (PETI) rules. Under all circumstances, qualified disability expenses, including burial and funeral, are paid prior to recapture. Check with your public benefits specialist about your specific circumstance.

If the eligible individual has the legal capacity to open an account, they can appoint someone to open and manage the account on their behalf. ABLE regulations expanded the list of authorized individuals who can open an ABLE account. No backup documentation is required to prove financial authority to act on behalf of the IAble account owner, but you must certify under penalties of perjury that no other person with a higher priority is willing or able to act as an authorized individual, and notify IAble if your authority expires or is removed. See our Who Can Open an Account? page or the Plan Disclosure Booklet (PDF) for more information.

An account owner or authorized individual may designate a successor account owner to assume control of the funds upon the death of the account owner. The successor account owner must be a sibling of the account owner and meet ABLE eligibility requirements. The successor account owner must be established during the life of the original account owner, even though the designation does not take effect until after death.

First and foremost, all outstanding qualified disability expenses are paid, including funeral and burial expenses. Withdrawal requests must be made within 90 days of the account owner’s death. IAble will work with the account owner’s family, authorized individual or estate to process the withdrawals. Refer to our Death of IAble Account Owner (PDF) handout for other important facts and next steps.

These are any expenses incurred as a result of living with a disability and are intended to improve your quality of life, health and provide greater independence. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has indicated qualified disability expenses can be construed broadly to include basic living expenses and include things like education, personal support services, assistive technology, transportation, housing, job coaching and more.

Not at the time of the withdrawal. Annually, IAble will report the total amount of your withdrawals to the IRS, and will report account balances monthly to the Social Security Administration. In the event either entity wants to verify the expenses, it’s recommended you keep detailed records.

Effective January 1, 2025, the federal annual contribution limit is $19,000. This means no more than $19,000 can be contributed in a year. However, if you are working and earning income, you may be eligible to contribute more. Contributions can be made to your account until the balance reaches the account balance limit of $505,000.

ABLE account owners who earn income may be able to exceed the $19,000 annual contribution limit. The additional annual contribution amount allowed is equal to the federal poverty level for a one-person household (in your state of residence) or the account owner's gross wages, whichever is less. In Iowa it is $15,060 for 2025. For more information, visit our ABLE to Work page.

Yes. A rollover from a 529 plan account, such as ISave 529, into an IAble account can be made as long as the beneficiary of the 529 plan is the IAble account owner or a “member of the family” (as defined by Section 529) of the account owner in the ABLE plan. It’s important to note the rollover will count towards your $19,000 annual contribution limit.

Anyone, including yourself, friends, family members, business, employer, trust, corporation or other legal entity can contribute to your account. No matter who contributes, you, the account owner or authorized individual, retain control over the account.

Ugift® is a feature of your ABLE account that allows others to contribute to your savings in lieu of traditional gifts. It's simple to use - just log in to your account to find your code and share it with friends and family, who can use it at UgiftABLE.com to contribute directly into your account. Learn more by reviewing the Ugift ABLE FAQ. 

You may choose among any combination of seven risk-based investment options and an FDIC-insured interest-bearing Checking Account Option with a debit card provided through Fifth Third Bank.

Yes. The annual account maintenance fee of $56 will be withdrawn quarterly in the amount of $14. For account owners electing in e-delivery of statements and confirmations, the annual account maintenance fee will be reduced to $31 and will be withdrawn quarterly in the amount of $7.75. Additionally, there are annual asset-based fees on the seven risk-based investment options, ranging from 0.28% to 0.34% depending on the option. For the Checking Account Option through Fifth Third Bank, there is a monthly service fee of $2.00, which is waived if you select e-delivery of your account statements or have an average monthly balance of at least $250.

Systematic exchanges are an optional feature that allows for the scheduled, automatic reallocation of assets in the account from an asset allocation option to one or more other asset allocation options or checking option.