PM 09-04-02: Types of Accounts

WAG 09-04-02

Crowdfunding

• Crowdfunding is the practice of obtaining needed funding by soliciting contributions from a large number of people, typically from an online community such as GoFundMe.

ABLE/SNT Accounts

• The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014, better known as the ABLE Act, created tax-free savings accounts that could be used to pay for disability-related expenses without affecting an individual's eligibility for medical. 26 U.S.C. § 529A and 89 Ill. Adm. Code §113.141.
  Note: Only individuals whose disability occurred prior to their turning 26 years of age can hold ABLE accounts.

• A special needs trust (SNT), sometimes referred to as a supplemental needs trust, is a legal vehicle enabling assets to be held on behalf of someone with disabilities without affecting their eligibility for public benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.

Resources (funds) held by the trusts are not "countable" for the purpose of establishing medical eligibility.