Senator Collins Examines Future Economic Security of People with Disabilities and their Families

Washington, D.C. - People with disabilities face a lifetime of compounded challenges.  Many individuals with disabilities who receive various federal disability supports experience significant barriers to economic health and employment, with 23 percent of individuals with disabilities saying they have difficulty covering their monthly expenses compared to nine percent of people without disabilities.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, explored these barriers in a hearing titled “Supporting Economic Stability and Self-Sufficiency as Americans with Disabilities and their Families Age.”

The hearing highlighted policies that help make it possible for people aging with disabilities to save for retirement and their ongoing disability-related expenses as they grow older.  It also examined policies that help aging parents save for the future needs of their children with disabilities. In particular, the hearing explored ABLE accounts, a mechanism for individuals with disabilities to save and continue to receive Social Security Insurance benefits.  These accounts were established by the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, which was cosponsored by Senator Collins, and signed into law in December 2014.  To date, 39 states have launched ABLE program, and Maine is in the process of implementing its own ABLE program to assist people with disabilities.

“Parents of children with disabilities were once discouraged from saving for their children’s future,” said Senator Collins, who has made improving financial security for all aging Americans a top priority of her committee.  “This led to needless worry, sleepless nights, and a lack of financial security.  Today, ABLE accounts offer a means to saving that can turn the tide.  These options provide a sense of security to help produce a brighter future full of hope.”

Citizens with disabilities across the nation have half the rate of workforce participation as the general population despite more than 70 percent wishing to work. They are also twice as likely to be living in poverty compared to the general population.  The average annual income for a worker with a disability is one-third less than a worker with a disability.  According to witnesses who testified at the Senate Aging Committee hearing, many public support programs actually inadvertently keep these individuals and families in poverty in order to maintain their eligibility by discouraging them from working and saving, and often forcing aging parents of special needs children to use their own savings or retire early to care for their loved ones.

Witness testimony included:

• Kelly Nye-Lengerman, PhD, MSW, LGSW, Research Associate, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN: Dr. Nye-Lengerman testified about her work as a researcher and a social worker.  She stressed that there are five important takeaways when examining the economic well-being of people with disabilities and their families.  The first is to invest in and support employment for people with disabilities so that they can earn and save for the future. The second is to support growth in flexible savings options, like ABLE accounts. The third is to support family caregivers so they can stay in the workforce. The fourth is to support and invest in a stable and competent direct support workforce to supplement family caregiving. The fifth is to incentivize and support people with disabilities and their families in integrated community settings.

• Ben Wright, Father and Business Owner, Wilmington, NC: Mr. Wright, who has two children with Down Syndrome, testified to the committee about three coffee shops that he and his wife run called “Bitty and Beau’s Coffee,” which employ nearly 80 adults with disabilities.  He spoke about his work helping to implement ABLE in North Carolina and the importance of bringing awareness to the high unemployment rate among individuals with disabilities, which he believes is more of a societal and cultural problem, than a traditional unemployment issue. 

• Edward Mitchell, MBA, Independent Living Specialist, Jackson, TN: Mr. Mitchell was riding a bicycle when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in 2003 that resulted in an incomplete fracture to his C5-C6 vertebrae. He currently uses a powered wheelchair for mobility, and does not have voluntary movement in his legs.  As a disabled individual, Mr. Mitchell told the committee of his struggles adjusting to life with his injury but overcoming those obstacles while going on to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.  Mr. Jackson now lives independently with the help of his parents and a nurse.  He now works to promote the benefits of ABLE accounts, which he says includes providing a peace of mind for his aging parents who balance trying to save for their own retirement while also working to help provide him a secure future.

• Jack Stollsteimer, Deputy State Treasurer for Consumer Programs and Public Engagement, Pennsylvania Office of the State Treasurer, Harrisburg, PA: Mr. Stollsteimer is the Deputy State Treasurer for Consumer Programs, and his department’s ABLE program has seen success since it was launched in April 2017. It includes provisions exempting ABLE accounts from Medicaid paybacks and offers account owners protection from creditors in state legal proceedings. Further, a state tax deduction has been implemented for contributions to ABLE accounts.  Currently, the PA ABLE program has over 1,400 accountholders with $8.3 million dollars under management. Nonetheless, he said there is still much work to be done as there are over 60,000 children with disabilities in PA, and the program’s end goal is to reach as many of them as possible.