HB 7038 Summary

• Establishes the Connecticut Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) program administered by the State Treasurer to allow eligible individuals with disabilities to create tax-free savings accounts for disability-related expenses.

• Defines eligible individuals as those receiving Social Security benefits for blindness or disability that occurred before age 26, with disability certification filed with the State Treasurer.

• Permits deposits into ABLE accounts to cover qualified disability expenses including education, housing, transportation, employment support, assistive technology, health services, legal fees, and funeral expenses.

• Exempts ABLE account funds and earnings from state taxation and exempts account balances from consideration in determining eligibility for state assistance programs and institutional aid at public educational institutions.

• Allows individuals to contribute to ABLE accounts with restrictions on investment direction (limited to two changes per calendar year) and provides annual reporting requirements to the Governor and General Assembly.

• Adds a tax deduction for contributions made to individual ABLE accounts under the federal ABLE Act, effective for taxable years beginning January 1, 2015.