News · Michigan
MiABLE turns 10, and Treasury says about 1 percent of eligible people have an account
LANSING — The first MiABLE account opened in November 2016, and the Treasury department says about 1 percent of the Michiganders who could use one have signed up.
Monday’s release says experts estimate about 1 million people in Michigan are eligible and that enrollment is about 1 percent of that number. Program director R. Scott de Varona said the first account “opened the door to financial freedom” and that ten years later the state still has not shown enough families how the accounts work. He said there is never a bad time to open one. The next webinar he pointed to is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.
MiABLE is Michigan’s Achieving a Better Life Experience program, set up in state law in 2015 and run by Treasury. The release says a $2,000 federal asset limit still applies to people who get benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, and that money in a MiABLE account does not jeopardize those benefits. People who became disabled before age 46 can save up to $20,000 a year, and someone who is working can add an amount equal to that year’s gross pay, up to another $15,650. Withdrawals for qualified disability expenses — health care, housing, education, transportation, and other costs that maintain health, independence or quality of life — are not taxed, and earnings grow tax-free. A family member, guardian or power of attorney can open an account for someone else. The person can spend the money without asking a special-needs trust for permission.
What 1 percent means
The 1 million figure is an estimate in the release, not a census this newsroom ran. The 1 percent is Treasury’s comparison of enrollment to that estimate. The $20,000 cap and the wage add-on are the rules as printed Monday. The webinar is the dated next step. The photograph is the capitol. It is not an account screen. The cap is $20,000 a year, plus up to $15,650 from wages. Disability must have started before age 46. The webinar is 6 p.m. Nov. 18. Medicaid and SSI are why the separate account exists. De Varona said there is never a bad time to open one and that ten years on, awareness is still the gap. About 1 million Michiganders are the eligibility estimate, and about 1 percent of that estimate are enrolled. Family members and guardians can open an account. Earnings grow tax-free when the withdrawal pays a qualified disability expense such as health care, housing, education or transportation. The program was created in state law in 2015.
Sources:
Michigan Treasury, “MiABLE Celebrates 10th Anniversary,” Nov. 9, 2026, https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/news/2026/11/09/miable-celebrates-10th-anniversary
Photo: w_lemay, “Dome, Michigan State Capitol, Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI - 54383136026.jpg”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADome%2C_Michigan_State_Capitol%2C_Capitol_Avenue%2C_Lansing%2C_MI_-_54383136026.jpg
