64 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • OCTOBER 12, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
The Elder Law Minute TM
The ABLE Act Benefi ts Those with Disabilities
BY RONALD A. FATOULLAH, ESQ.
AND STACEY MESHNICK, ESQ.
One of the main priorities of family
members of individuals with disabilities
is to best provide for that person’s
disability-related expenses while maintaining
the individual’s eligibility for
essential means-tested government benefi
ts programs. In passing the Achieving
a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act,
Congress created a new way for potentially
millions of people to save for their
disability related expenses and maintain
a higher quality of life without jeopardizing
their government benefi ts. Th e creation
and proper use of these accounts,
called “ABLE” accounts, is of paramount
importance to people with disabilities.
An individual diagnosed with a disability
generally cannot own assets totaling
more than $2,000 without forfeiting
eligibility for government programs
such as Supplemental Security Income
(SSI). However, under the ABLE Act,
tax-free savings accounts may be used
ELDER LAW
to pay for qualifying expenses such as
the costs of treating the disability or
for education, housing and health care,
among other things. Th e existence of
the accounts will not compromise the
individual’s ability to qualify for benefi
ts like SSI or Medicaid as long as the
ABLE account requirements are adhered
to. Families enrolled in ABLE plans may
contribute up to $14,000 annually to
these accounts without jeopardizing the
account benefi ciary’s eligibility for SSI,
Medicaid and other crucial government
benefi t programs.
Th e ABLE account savings plan may
be used for an even broader array of
products and services than many benefi
ciaries may realize, including housing
expenses, bus fare, fi nancial management
services or even, potentially, a
smart phone. In proposed regulations,
the Treasury Department and Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) reiterated that
the term “qualifying disability expenses”
should be “broadly construed” to include
any benefi t related to the designated benefi
ciary “in maintaining or improving his
or her health, independence, or quality of
life.” Once in place, ABLE accounts will
become another valuable tool for families
of people with special needs to use in
order to protect their loved ones’ valuable
benefi ts while enhancing their quality
of life.
To help consumers navigate the
ABLE process and accelerate the opening
of accounts by eligible individuals,
the ABLE National Resource Center has
launched an education and information
campaign called #ABLEtoSave (http://
ablenrc.org/road-map-enrollment). Th e
goal of the #ABLEtoSave campaign is
to signifi cantly boost public knowledge
about ABLE accounts and ultimately
increase the number of ABLE accounts
opened.
Although it may be easy to set up
an ABLE account, there are many hidden
pitfalls associated with spending
the funds in the accounts, both for the
benefi ciary and for her family members.
Th erefore, it is imperative that
anyone thinking about establishing an
ABLE account speak with her special
needs planner fi rst in order to make sure
that all of the pieces of a special needs
plan will properly align with the ABLE
account.
Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal
of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates,
a law fi rm that concentrates in elder
law, estate planning, Medicaid planning,
guardianships, estate administration,
special needs planning, and real estate.
Eva Schwechter is an elder law attorney
with the fi rm. Th e law fi rm can be
reached at 718-261-1700, 516-466-4422,
or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW or
1-877-ESTATES. Mr. Fatoullah is also
a partner with Advice Period, a wealth
management fi rm, and he can be reached
at 424-256-7273.
RONALD FATOULLAH
ESQ, CELA*
editorial
Be Prepared for PFL
Dear Mindy, I heard that even small
business employers in New York will
soon be required to pay for time off for
their employees. Can you give us some
details? Questioning in Queens
Dear Questioning, You are correct. In
2016, Governor Cuomo signed into law
the most comprehensive Paid Family
Leave policy in the country.
Starting on January 1, 2018 New York
State employees will be eligible for job
protected, paid family leave. Paid Family
Leave (PFL) will provide New York
employees with job-protected, paid
leave to bond with a new child, care for
a loved one with a serious health condition
or to help relieve family pressures
when someone is called to active military
service.
NYS Paid Family Leave
will be phased in over a
period of time. Th e timeline,
amount of time available
and maximum percent
of employee’s average weekly
wage is:
2018 - 8 weeks/ 50%
2019 - 10 weeks/ 55%
2020 - 10 weeks/ 60%
2021 - 12 weeks/ 67%
Here are a few
relevant facts:
Employees are eligible for Paid Family
Leave aft er working full-time for their
employer for 26 weeks or part-time for
175 days.
Since this law is broader
than FMLA, most employees
will be covered under
the law.
Employers will be required
to purchase a Paid Family
Leave insurance policy or
self-insure. Th e premium of
the policy will be paid for by
employee payroll deductions.
What you can do
now to prepare:
Contact your insurance broker about
coverage
Contact your payroll provider about
allowable payroll deductions
Review your employee handbook to
be sure that it aligns with the new regulations
Here is a link for more
information:
https://www.ny.gov/programs/newyork
state-paid-family-leave
Mindy Stern, SPHR, SHRM-SCP,
ACC is a trusted HR advisor, career
coach, author, speaker and president of
AIM Resource Group Inc. Visit the website
at www.aimresourcegroup.com to
get RESULTS! Do you want your questions
answered in this column? Send
requests to: mstern@aimresourcegroup.
com.
EMPLOYMENT
MATTERS
MINDY STERN
SPHR, SHRM-SCP,