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<div id="gmail-thumbnailView"><a title="Page 1" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=1"></a><div class="gmail-thumbnail gmail-selected"><a title="Page 1" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=1"><div class="gmail-thumbnailSelectionRing" style="width:100px;height:128px"></div></a><a title="Page 2" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=2"></a><div class="gmail-thumbnail"><a title="Page 2" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=2"><div class="gmail-thumbnailSelectionRing" style="width:100px;height:128px"></div></a><a title="Page 3" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=3"></a><div class="gmail-thumbnail"><a title="Page 3" href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OTT/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2020/PR101520State-Treasurer-Shawn-Wooden-Launches-Able-CT-To-Benefit-Connecticuts-Disability-Community.pdf#page=3"><div class="gmail-thumbnailSelectionRing" style="width:100px;height:128px"></div></a></div>
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<div class="gmail-pdfViewer" id="gmail-viewer"><div class="gmail-page" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"><div class="gmail-canvasWrapper" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"></div></div></div><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">: Thursday, October 15, 2020</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">CONTACT:</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">Office of the Treasurer, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">Michelle.Woods</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16.58px"><a href="mailto:Matthews@ct.gov">Matthews@ct.gov</a></span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:29.97px">STATE TREASURER SHAWN WOODEN LAUNCHES ABLE CT TO </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:29.97px">BENEFIT CONNECTICUT’S DISABILITY COMMUNITY</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:23.37px">Federally Qualified Program Allows Individuals Living </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:23.37px">with</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:23.37px">a Disability to Save </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:23.37px">Without Jeopardizing Their Fe</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:23.37px">deral Benefits</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Hartford, CT </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">On Thursday, October 15, 2020, Connecticut State Treasurer, Shawn T. Wooden, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">announced the launch of the Connecticut Achieving a Better Life Experience Savings Program </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">(ABLE CT) to allow individuals living with a disability o</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">r their legal guardian, the opportunity to </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">open an account and save money using a federally tax advantaged ABLE CT savings plan.</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">“At a time when we are seeing the pandemic deepen already existing economic disparities, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">thousands of individuals living with </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">a disability in Connecticut continue to be financially </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">burdened by countless expensive disability</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">related costs,” said Connecticut State Treasurer </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Shawn T. Wooden. “It is well overdue for Connecticut to help individuals living with a disability </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">to achieve </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">greater financial independence, expand self</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">reliance, and increase access to </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">opportunities, and that is exactly what the ABLE CT program will provide.”</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">The ABLE Act signed into law by the federal government in 2014, enabled states to pass their </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">own ABLE l</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">egislation authorizing the creation of a federally tax</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">advantaged savings program </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">for individuals living with a disability. Connecticut passed such legislation in 2015. </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Implemented and administered by Treasurer Wooden, ABLE CT is designed to help individua</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ls </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">living with a disability save for a better future by covering disability</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">related expenses, without </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">jeopardizing their eligibility to receive federal benefits, such as Medicaid, Supplemental </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Security Income (SSI), and other important federal benefits. Th</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">e account offers a high</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">quality, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">low</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">cost ABLE CT savings and investment plan and a full featured checking account. </span><div class="gmail-page" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"><div class="gmail-annotationLayer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a></div></div><div class="gmail-page" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"><div class="gmail-canvasWrapper" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"></div><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">“I am happy to be part of this launch, celebrating Connecticut’s partnership with the National </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ABLE alliance,” Commissioner Amy Porter, De</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">partment on Aging and Disability Services. “An </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ABLE account can be an incredibly valuable tool for individuals with disabilities and their </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">families, allowing an individual to save for disability related expenses and invest for their </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">future.” </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ABLE CT accounts will have investment earnings and withdrawals that are tax free when spent </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">on qualified disability expenses. Qualified disability expenses for ABLE CT include: education; </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">housing; transportation; employment training and support; assistive </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">technology; personal </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">support services; general health services; prevention and wellness services; financial </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">management and administrative services; legal fees; expenses for oversight and monitoring; </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">and funeral and burial expenses. Annual contribution limi</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ts for each individual are tied to the </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Connecticut cap of the gift</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">tax exclusion limit, which is currently $15,000 annually. </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">“Our dream for Alijah since we received his diagnosis at birth is that he would lead a fulfilling </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">and independent life,” said Bet</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">h Gard of South Windsor, the first ABLE CT account holder on </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">behalf of her child with Down Syndrome. “The inception of the ABLE CT program is a crucial </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">step in fulfilling that dream. It allows us to plan for his financial future and enables Alijah to </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">seek </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">meaningful employment as he grows up without the concern, he may lose essential </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">services and benefits. We will also be able to similarly support him in pursuing his dreams as </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">we support his typical brother and sister in pursuing theirs. My family and I are</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">very excited </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">about ABLE CT, what it means for Alijah’s future, as well as the future of others like him.”</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">“A full and independent life in the community is far more attainable with a degree of financial </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">independence,” said Tom Fiorentino, member of The Ar</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">c Connecticut’s Board of Directors and </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">parent of an adult with an intellectual disability. “The ABLE CT program is an important step </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">on the path to that independence. I am very happy that the sustained efforts of the Arc, at </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">both the national and state lev</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">el, have resulted in Connecticut’s offering this important </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">program to thousands of its residents."</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Those who qualify and are eligible to open an ABLE CT account include the following: (1) </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">anyone living with disabilities that were present before the age of</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">26; (2) those who are eligible </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">for SSI or SSDI because of a disability; (3) experience blindness as defined by the Social Security </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Act; or (4) have a disability with a written diagnosis from a licensed physician that can be </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">produced if requested, can qual</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ify and are eligible to open an ABLE CT account. </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Account holders like Jessica Sahlman plan to use their savings to support their housing and </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">transportation needs. Jessica, an ABLE account holder and Ambassador for the ABLE National </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Resource Center, noted</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">, "I can be more independent with transportation."</span></a><div class="gmail-canvasWrapper" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">“As a Certified Financial Planner, my one piece of advice when someone is eligible for an ABLE </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">account is to ‘Just Do It,’ and to get started,” said Andrew Komarow; an ABLE account holder, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Ambassador for </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">the ABLE National Resource Center, and founder of Planning Across the </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Spectrum. “If you are eligible to open an ABLE CT account, I encourage you to, as you will </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">benefit from the program.”</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">###</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">About Connecticut’s Achieving a Better Life Experience Savings Program</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">The </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">ABLE CT</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">program is sponsored by the State of Connecticut and administered by the Office </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">of the Treasurer. ABLE CT is designed to be a federally qualified ABLE plan for the benefit of </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">th</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">e residents of the State of Connecticut offered through the National ABLE Alliance. Ascensus </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC, the Program Manager, and its affiliates, are </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">responsible for the day</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">to</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">day operations including: investment advisory,</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">record</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">-</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">keeping, and </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">administrative services for ABLE CT.</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">About the Office of the State Treasurer</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Under the leadership of Connecticut’s State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, the Office of the </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Treasurer is dedicated to safeguarding the state’s financial resources and taxpayers’ dollars, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">while maximizing returns and minimizing risks for pension beneficiaries </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">and operating at the </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">highest professional and ethical standards. Through investments and cash management, the </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">office continues to enhance the state’s fiscal stability, financial literacy, college savings, and </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">its approach to leveraging business partnership</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">s to combat social issues such as gun violence, </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">climate change, and equal opportunity for economic growth. Learn more about the Office of </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">the Treasurer </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">here</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">and follow along on </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Facebook</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">,</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Instagram</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">and </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">Twitter</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:19.98px">.<span></span></span></a><div id="gmail-outerContainer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><div id="gmail-mainContainer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><div tabindex="0" id="gmail-viewerContainer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><div class="gmail-pdfViewer" id="gmail-viewer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><div class="gmail-page" style="width:1018px;height:1318px"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><div class="gmail-annotationLayer"><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://savewithable.com/ct/home/investment-options.html" href="https://savewithable.com/ct/home/investment-options.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://portal.ct.gov/OTT/About-the-Treasury/Overview" href="https://portal.ct.gov/OTT/About-the-Treasury/Overview" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://www.facebook.com/treasurerwooden/" href="https://www.facebook.com/treasurerwooden/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://www.instagram.com/cttreasurerwooden/" href="https://www.instagram.com/cttreasurerwooden/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://twitter.com/TreasurerWooden" href="https://twitter.com/TreasurerWooden" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a></a></a></a></a></a></div></div></div><a title="mailto:Michelle.Woods-Matthews@ct.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><a title="https://twitter.com/TreasurerWooden" href="https://twitter.com/TreasurerWooden" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">
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