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Post by Ackrin on Jun 26, 2020 0:47:36 GMT -5
I've been curious about these accounts for a while. Now that I have a few money making opportunities. I'm curious if anyone here has any firsthand knowledge of how they work.
You're supposed to be able to caught up to $15,000 a year in these accounts and not have it affect any means testing services. I know you can only use the money in that account for certain things which is fine. We just got a new wheelchair van which I'd like to start paying off. I know it's covered considering it's transportation.
Has anyone been able to use this imma make money, and not have any problems? I'm hoping all this makes sense. I'm kind of rushing to post this because my phone is dying.lol
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Post by Mets on Jun 26, 2020 19:41:04 GMT -5
I have an Able account. These are the key points to know:
-ABLE accounts shield money from Medicaid’s *asset limits*, but not income limits. You need to look up the asset and income limits for your state. The asset limit is a fixed amount (aprox $2,000) that you cannot exceed at any time. The income limit is a monthly limit (roughly $1500/month) which you cannot exceed with any one month’s income.
-You can use your ABLE account for nearly anything, just don’t use it for things like vacations or luxury items. Rent, transportation, food, equipment, etc are all common expenses.
-The $15,000 is the annual contribution limit, but you can have something like $85,000 in the account if you contribute over many years.
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Post by matisse on Jun 26, 2020 20:03:46 GMT -5
I have an Able account. These are the key points to know: -ABLE accounts shield money from Medicaid’s *asset limits*, but not income limits. You need to look up the asset and income limits for your state. The asset limit is a fixed amount (aprox $2,000) that you cannot exceed at any time. The income limit is a monthly limit (roughly $1500/month) which you cannot exceed with any one month’s income. -You can use your ABLE account for nearly anything, just don’t use it for things like vacations or luxury items. Rent, transportation, food, equipment, etc are all common expenses. -The $15,000 is the annual contribution limit, but you can have something like $85,000 in the account if you contribute over many years. Sheesh who came up with these amounts? They are abysmally low. Do they at least exclude a home from the asset limits?
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Post by Corey on Jun 26, 2020 20:17:16 GMT -5
I highly recommend everyone use an ABLE account. They are tax free investment accounts. I actually waive my 401k at work, because if you work and don’t have an employer sponsored retirement account you can contribute even more than the $15000 per year.
It’s also really easy to withdraw money. Just keep receipts in case they ever ask. But the things you can use it for are very broad.
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Post by Mets on Jun 26, 2020 20:34:27 GMT -5
I have an Able account. These are the key points to know: -ABLE accounts shield money from Medicaid’s *asset limits*, but not income limits. You need to look up the asset and income limits for your state. The asset limit is a fixed amount (aprox $2,000) that you cannot exceed at any time. The income limit is a monthly limit (roughly $1500/month) which you cannot exceed with any one month’s income. -You can use your ABLE account for nearly anything, just don’t use it for things like vacations or luxury items. Rent, transportation, food, equipment, etc are all common expenses. -The $15,000 is the annual contribution limit, but you can have something like $85,000 in the account if you contribute over many years. Sheesh who came up with these amounts? They are abysmally low. Do they at least exclude a home from the asset limits? Home and vehicle do not count, and some states also allow retirement accounts. That said, for people working and determined like myself who can’t afford their care but make more than $20,000/year, there are additional rarely-used programs. It is an absolute mess to get into them, but they exist.
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Post by midwestguy on Jun 27, 2020 16:15:25 GMT -5
I have an Able account. These are the key points to know: -ABLE accounts shield money from Medicaid’s *asset limits*, but not income limits. You need to look up the asset and income limits for your state. The asset limit is a fixed amount (aprox $2,000) that you cannot exceed at any time. The income limit is a monthly limit (roughly $1500/month) which you cannot exceed with any one month’s income. -You can use your ABLE account for nearly anything, just don’t use it for things like vacations or luxury items. Rent, transportation, food, equipment, etc are all common expenses. -The $15,000 is the annual contribution limit, but you can have something like $85,000 in the account if you contribute over many years. Steve are you sure of the monthly income limits? I can't find any documentation on this.
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Post by Mets on Jun 27, 2020 17:20:14 GMT -5
I have an Able account. These are the key points to know: -ABLE accounts shield money from Medicaid’s *asset limits*, but not income limits. You need to look up the asset and income limits for your state. The asset limit is a fixed amount (aprox $2,000) that you cannot exceed at any time. The income limit is a monthly limit (roughly $1500/month) which you cannot exceed with any one month’s income. -You can use your ABLE account for nearly anything, just don’t use it for things like vacations or luxury items. Rent, transportation, food, equipment, etc are all common expenses. -The $15,000 is the annual contribution limit, but you can have something like $85,000 in the account if you contribute over many years. Steve are you sure of the monthly income limits? I can't find any documentation on this. For Medicaid, yes, there are monthly income limits. In Ohio it is $1,436/month, or $2,659/month if you qualify and enroll in the Medicaid Buy-In Program. medicaid.ohio.gov/Portals/0/For%20Ohioans/Programs/whoQualifies/Aged-Blind-Disabled-Individuals.pdf
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Post by midwestguy on Jun 27, 2020 18:15:58 GMT -5
I'm on the Ohio Medicaid Buy-In program and earn more than the limit therefor I have a monthly premium I pay. But I can't find anything that says I would be ineligible for an Able account because of my income.
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Post by Corey on Jun 27, 2020 19:10:00 GMT -5
I'm on the Ohio Medicaid Buy-In program and earn more than the limit therefor I have a monthly premium I pay. But I can't find anything that says I would be ineligible for an Able account because of my income. No income limits for ABLE account Steve meant having an ABLE account can help you get around the asset limits of Medicaid, but not the income limit
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Post by Mets on Jun 27, 2020 19:13:34 GMT -5
I'm on the Ohio Medicaid Buy-In program and earn more than the limit therefor I have a monthly premium I pay. But I can't find anything that says I would be ineligible for an Able account because of my income. Ah sorry for a mix-up here. ABLE doesn't have any income limits or financial ineligibility. Ackrin was asking if an ABLE account would help him circumvent Medicaid's financial limits, and I was clarifying that while ABLE accounts DO shield you from Medicaid's asset limits, they DO NOT shield from income limits. I'm sure you know these things well if you managed to get into the MBI program, but as an example, if you contributed your excess income to the ABLE account, it would still be counted as income and you'd still need to pay your premium. In NY, the MBI program automatically terminates your service if you exceed the limit (there's no premium for excess) so the monthly income limit is very strict and important.
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Post by midwestguy on Jun 28, 2020 9:42:29 GMT -5
I'm on the Ohio Medicaid Buy-In program and earn more than the limit therefor I have a monthly premium I pay. But I can't find anything that says I would be ineligible for an Able account because of my income. Ah sorry for a mix-up here. ABLE doesn't have any income limits or financial ineligibility. Ackrin was asking if an ABLE account would help him circumvent Medicaid's financial limits, and I was clarifying that while ABLE accounts DO shield you from Medicaid's asset limits, they DO NOT shield from income limits. I'm sure you know these things well if you managed to get into the MBI program, but as an example, if you contributed your excess income to the ABLE account, it would still be counted as income and you'd still need to pay your premium. In NY, the MBI program automatically terminates your service if you exceed the limit (there's no premium for excess) so the monthly income limit is very strict and important. Got it! Thanks for clarifying. All of these programs are like walking a tightrope over a mine field
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Post by darthoso on Jun 28, 2020 12:54:43 GMT -5
ABLE Accounts are one of those things that I'm grateful exist but are also infuriating. Congress could have simply taken the eligibility requirements for ABLE and just eliminated asset limits for those individuals that qualify. Instead, Congress created a new IRS designation and Social Security rules, then had the States pass their own ABLE Act to implement it, had the State Departments of Revenue contract with the financial industry to create the accounts. The end result is 50ish bureaucracies that could implode because there aren't enough PWDs in this narrow category to cover the fees required to support the bureaucracy. Corey are you able to directly control the investments? I can only do low medium and high risk.
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Post by sungod on Jun 28, 2020 13:06:46 GMT -5
I have an ABLE account as well. I signed up for the tax-free growth of investments, but the shielding of your assets from consideration by Medicaid is one of the biggest benefits. Mets and midwestguy have a lot of the right facts, but just to summarize: -Assets in your ABLE account do not count against your allowable assets tallied by Medicaid. The maximum balance of your ABLE account is actually quite large. Depending on the state, it can be over $500k. When I signed up last year, I signed up for a Pennsylvania account because, among other things, its maximum balance was the highest at $512k. Even states with the lowest maximum balance allow up to ~$235k. HOWEVER, only the first $100k is exempted from the Medicaid asset limit. -You (and any others) can continue contributing to the ABLE account until it reaches the maximum balance. At that point, he can still continue growing, you just can't contribute. -If the account owner is employed, he/she can contribute up to the lesser of their total salary or 4.5x the poverty line (~$12k). -Other people can contribute gifts up to $15k/year. I've also read that Medicaid can potentially come to recoup any other costs from this account after the account owner's death. -To qualify for Medicaid buy-in, you MUST be employed, but there is an income limit. In Colorado, you can earn up to $108,000/year and still qualify. Any under earned income counts doubly toward this limit. If I remember right, the Medicaid buy-in program does not have any asset limits.
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Post by Corey on Jun 28, 2020 13:32:56 GMT -5
ABLE Accounts are one of those things that I'm grateful exist but are also infuriating. Congress could have simply taken the eligibility requirements for ABLE and just eliminated asset limits for those individuals that qualify. Instead, Congress created a new IRS designation and Social Security rules, then had the States pass their own ABLE Act to implement it, had the State Departments of Revenue contract with the financial industry to create the accounts. The end result is 50ish bureaucracies that could implode because there aren't enough PWDs in this narrow category to cover the fees required to support the bureaucracy. Corey are you able to directly control the investments? I can only do low medium and high risk. No, same for me. By the way, even the 'high risk' is quite conservative. If you look around in the fine print you can get the details. They are just different index funds. For me the high risk is just this: investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vasgxwhich has a 20% weighting of US treasuries. Its nice to have treasuries in downturns like we're in now, but most of the time you'll just be earning whatever the inflation rate is.
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Post by matisse on Jun 28, 2020 15:47:59 GMT -5
ABLE Accounts are one of those things that I'm grateful exist but are also infuriating. Congress could have simply taken the eligibility requirements for ABLE and just eliminated asset limits for those individuals that qualify. Instead, Congress created a new IRS designation and Social Security rules, then had the States pass their own ABLE Act to implement it, had the State Departments of Revenue contract with the financial industry to create the accounts. The end result is 50ish bureaucracies that could implode because there aren't enough PWDs in this narrow category to cover the fees required to support the bureaucracy. Corey are you able to directly control the investments? I can only do low medium and high risk. No, same for me. By the way, even the 'high risk' is quite conservative. If you look around in the fine print you can get the details. They are just different index funds. For me the high risk is just this: investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vasgxwhich has a 20% weighting of US treasuries. Its nice to have treasuries in downturns like we're in now, but most of the time you'll just be earning whatever the inflation rate is. Wouldn't it be costless for them to allow full access to the market? Seems like another example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. They take a paternalistic attitude because we crips are not capable of handling our own money.
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