PARTNER RESOURCE PACKET
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 5
Financial Wellness for Persons with Disabilities and Their Families
Mark your calendars this October for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an
annual celebration that raises awareness while honoring the contributions of Americans with
disabilities to our workforce and society. In partnership with the National Disability Institute
(NDI), the nation’s leading nonprofit for advancing the economic opportunities of individuals
with disabilities, we are eager to highlight the tools and resources available to persons with
disabilities, their families, and service providers to encourage financial wellness and assetbuilding.
Please share the article, social media content, graphics, and resources provided with your
constituents, your partners, and the general public.
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Article Copy
For use in communications that directly reach your constituents. We encourage you to use its
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Savings is an option for individuals with disabilities
By Michael R. Roush, Director, Real Economic Impact Network, National Disability Institute
Often individuals with disabilities are not familiar with the savings options available to them, or
they may be afraid to save money in fear of jeopardizing their public benefits. However, there
are a wide variety of saving strategies that individuals with disabilities can potentially access to
achieve their savings goals and improve their financial well-being. At National Disability
Institute (NDI), we focus on five key strategies that we believe can assist an individual build a
life of work, savings, and asset development. The five key strategies are:
GOAL
Benefits Planning
and Work Supports
Employment
Free Tax
Preparation
Financial Education
Asset Development
Benefits Planning and Work Supports
There are savings options available to individuals who are receiving a needs-based benefit, such
as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), through the Social Security Administration (SSA). The
SSA offers work incentives that support an individual to go back to work and maintain
employment while receiving a public benefit; and examples of this is the Plan to Achieve SelfSupport, often referred to as PASS. PASS is a plan for an individual’s future and allows an
individual use income or other assets to help them reach their work goals. An individual could,
for example, set aside money to go to school to get specialized training for a job or to start a
business. To learn more about PASS or other work incentives, review the SSA’s Red Book at
https://www.ssa.gov/redbook/documents/TheRedBook2016.pdf.
Employment
Employment is important to improving financial well-being, and employment services are
available to help individuals with a disability to obtain, maintain, or enhance their employment
status. A great starting point is a visit to a local American Job Center (AJC), also called
Workforce Centers or One-Stop Centers. AJCs are designed to provide a full range of assistance
to job seekers under one roof. They offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and
similar employment-related services.
Tax Preparation
Tax time is an ideal time to encourage individuals with disabilities to save money. We find that
individuals with disabilities will often not file a tax return either because of low wages or in fear
that if they file and receive a tax refund, they will lose their public benefits. It is important for
these individuals to know that refunds received from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the
Child Tax Credit (CTC), or other refundable credits are not considered income. In addition, these
refunds are not counted as a resource for at least 12 months from when an individual receives
it for benefits or assistance under any federal program or under any state or local program
financed in whole or in part with federal funds. More information about disability and free tax
services is available online at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earnedincome-tax-credit/disability-and-earned-income-tax-credit.
Financial Education
Financial education is a critical first step on the road to financial stability. NDI has several
initiatives dedicated to understanding and implementing key financial concepts to help people
with disabilities take hold of their financial futures. FDIC’s Money Smart, for example, provides
an accessible curriculum that is frequently used by disability organizations. To learn more about
NDI’s financial education tools and resources, visit
http://www.realeconomicimpact.org/financial-education/financial-education-toolkit.aspx.
Asset Development
Individuals may not be aware of programs that can assist them to save money to buy a home,
go back to school, or to start a business. Individual Development Accounts (IDA) are a savings
option for individuals with disabilities. If an individual saves money in a federally matched IDA
program, the funds will not impact their eligibility for federal benefit programs. Similarly, ABLE
Accounts are a savings option for individuals with disabilities who qualify. ABLE Accounts allow
an individual to save up to $14,000 per year without these funds impacting a needs-based
benefit such as Supplemental Security Income. Money saved in an ABLE Account can be used to
pay for qualified disability expenses.
National Disability Institute is the first national organization committed exclusively to
championing economic empowerment, asset development and financial stability for all persons
across the full spectrum of disabilities. We affect change through public education, training,
technical assistance and policy development to help the one in three Americans with disabilities
living in poverty take steps toward creating brighter financial futures. To learn more, visit
www.realeconomicimpact.org. If you have specific questions on savings options for persons with
disabilities, please send an email to [email protected]. Engage with NDI on Facebook:
RealEconImpact or follow NDI on Twitter: @RealEconImpact.
Social Media Content
Share the following messages with your followers.
#SavingsTipTuesday
#SavingsFactFriday
A great employment starting point for ppl w/
disabilities? @Career1Stop #SavingsTipTuesday
@RealEconImpact @AmericaSaves [Image]
5 things you should know about ABLE
accounts: http://bit.ly/29xKYj7 #SavingsFactFriday
@RealEconImpact @AmericaSaves [Image]
Individuals w/ disabilities can save without impacting
needs-based benefits: http://bit.ly/2cVyQWt v/
@RealEconImpact #SavingsFactFriday [Image]
Financial edu helps ppl w/disabilities take hold of
their
futures! http://bit.ly/2cGMJLd #SavingsTipTuesday
@AmericaSaves @RealEconImpact [Image]
Learn more about tax time savings here:
http://bit.ly/2cVKDnD #SavingsTipTuesday
@RealEconImpact @AmericaSaves [Image]
Tax assistance is available for individuals with
disabilities from @IRS: http://bit.ly/2cVBlb7
#SavingsTipTuesday
.@FDICgov Money Smart has accessible materials
frequently used by disability
orgs: http://bit.ly/2cbUQQo #SavingsTipTuesday
@AmericaSaves
.@RealEconImpact has free classes on strategies to
build financial wellness of ppl w/ disabilities
http://bit.ly/2cVMc4 #SavingsTipTuesday
Multiple states now offer #ABLE accounts. Compare
the programs
here: http://bit.ly/2cVza7F @AmericaSaves
@RealEconImpact [Image]
#Savings is an option for individuals with
disabilities: http://bit.ly/2cK6bbd #SavingsFactFriday
@RealEconImpact @AmericaSaves
#DidYouKnow IDAs are savings option for ppl
w/disabilities where funds are matched?
http://bit.ly/2czfvtg #SavingsFactFriday
Tax refunds (incl EITC + CTC) are NOT considered
income for those w/ public benefits
#SavingsFactFriday @RealEconImpact
@AmericaSaves
Additional Posts
Do you have a tip about saving as an individual with a disability? Share it w @AmericaSaves & you could win $25
>> http://bit.ly/2d1v1Tk [Image]
Here's how you can become ABLE account ready: http://huff.to/2cVCY8J by @RealEconImpact v/ @AmericaSaves
[Image]
.@MyFreeTaxes = free tax prep + filing help for qualified ppl w/combined income of $62k or less
>> http://bit.ly/2cK8Rp3 v/ @AmericaSaves
Let @AmericaSaves help you stay committed to your #savings goal! Take the pledge today: http://bit.ly/2coXx2v
Making simple changes to spending is an easy way to help anyone start #saving
>> http://bit.ly/2cWR9iB #BetterMoneyHabits v/ @AmericaSaves
When discussing people w/ disabilities, put the person first. Here are examples from @RealEconImpact:
http://bit.ly/2cVAur6 @AmericaSaves
America Saves Twitter Chat
Join @AmericaSaves in an hour-long Twitter chat on our packet theme.
Please join @AmericaSaves and @RealEconImpact on Monday, October 17 at 3pm Eastern for
an hour-long discussion on financial wellness for people with disabilities and their families.
In partnership with the National Disability Institute (NDI), we are excited to kick off National
Disability Employment Awareness Month with an hour-long chat highlighting the tools and
resources available to persons with disabilities, their families, and service providers. Please join
our conversation on how to approach employment, saving, and asset-building, and strategies
for improving one’s financial wellbeing.
Hashtag: #ABLEToSave
Topic: Financial Wellness for Persons with Disabilities and Their Families
When: Monday, October 17 at 3pm Eastern
Easy ways to follow the chat: Twubs or tchat.io.
The #ABLEToSave chat will feature these questions for discussion:
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Q1: Can people with disabilities save while receiving benefits?
Q2: Do you know what an ABLE account is?
Q3: Why is it important to save money?
Q4: How do you know if saving money in an ABLE Account is right for the individuals you
work with?
Q5: What are some good tools to help an individual with a disability learn how to save?
Q6: What are some ways to encourage friends and family members to save?
Q7: What are some good savings strategies?
Relevant Resources
Share the following resources with your audience and with partnering organizations.
From America Saves
Blog Articles
 5 things you should know about ABLE accounts
 Celebrate Americans with Disabilities Day by opening an ABLE account
 National Disability Institute and America Saves Announce Partnership
Resources
 Set a Goal: What to Save For
 Make a Plan: How to Save Money
o Five Saving Strategies
o Creating a Budget
o Finding Money to Save
o Saving on a Tight Budget
 Save Automatically
 Saving at Tax Time
Resources + Research
 Becoming ABLE Account Ready, The Huffington Post (June 2016)
 National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2016, US Department of Labor, Office of
Disability Employment Policy
 National Disability Institute
o Disability Sensitivity and Awareness
 People First Language
 Disability Awareness Training
o Earned Income Tax Credit and Free Tax Preparation
 MyFreeTaxes
 Disability and Earned Income Tax Credit
o Financial Education
 Better Money Habits
o Employment
 LEAD Center
 Workforce3One
o Benefits Planning and Work Supports
 Social Security Administration – Ticket to Work
 Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) Online
o Asset Development
 Individual Development Account (IDA) Resources
 ABLE Accounts
 The ABLE National Resource Center (ANRC)