David Camp, NOSSCR Senior Policy Advisor

A One-Year Window Your Clients’ Families Cannot Afford to Miss: Trump Accounts, ABLE, and Age 17

This month I want to put something on your radar that isn’t about pending legislation—primarily because it isn’t in pending legislation. This is a gap that may need to be filled by your counsel to some of your clients with disabled minor children—those who decide to use the new Trump Accounts.

The federal government has just launched a massive new savings program for children. While it is a benefit for most families, it contains a hidden structural trap for children with disabilities. If we do not act as the early warning system for our clients, a program designed to build their savings could instead disqualify them from SSI just as they reach adulthood.

Trump Accounts

Congress created “Trump Accounts” in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last July, and as of this summer they are officially live. The Treasury Department reports millions of children are already enrolled, with a one-time $1,000 federal pilot contribution rolling out for eligible U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028.

Mechanically, a Trump Account is a starter traditional IRA (Individual Retirement Account) for a child under Section 530A of the Internal Revenue Code. Family members and others can contribute up to $5,000 per year (indexed), employers can add up to $2,500 per year, and the money grows in low-fee index funds until the child reaches adulthood. The Treasury has designated Bank of New York Mellon as the financial agent, with Robinhood serving as the initial trustee. Parents make the election on IRS Form 4547 or online.

Collision with SSI

Here is why this belongs in a column for Social Security representatives: on January 1 of the year the child turns 18, a Trump Account automatically converts into an ordinary traditional IRA. For a child without a disability, that is exactly the point—a head start on retirement savings. For a child with a disability, it is a sudden SSI resources problem.

An IRA is a countable resource for SSI purposes, and it becomes countable at almost exactly the moment parental deeming ends and Social Security conducts the age-18 redetermination. A Trump Account holding even a modest few thousand dollars can push a young adult over the $2,000 SSI resource limit right as their own eligibility is being decided.

(This archaic cap is exactly why NOSSCR has endorsed the SSI Restoration Act. If passed, it would update asset limits by raising resource caps to $10,000 for individuals, finally moving past limits that have trapped beneficiaries in poverty. But until a statutory edit provides a way forward, we must navigate the rules as they exist today.)

Families who did the responsible thing by saving could watch those very savings disqualify their child.

The ABLE Escape Hatch: One Year, All or Nothing

Fortunately, Congress built in an off-ramp, though it is exceedingly narrow. Under Section 530A, the entire balance of a Trump Account may be rolled over into an ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) account for the same child.

• The Age 17 Window: The transfer is only permitted by direct trustee-to-trustee transfer during the calendar year in which the child turns 17.
• All or Nothing: It must be the whole balance, in a single transfer. There is no partial rollover, no second chance at 18, and no grace period.
• Favorable Terms: The rollover is excluded from the child’s gross income and does not count against the ABLE annual contribution limit.
• SSI Protection: Once inside the ABLE account, the first $100,000 is excluded from SSI’s resource calculation, and the balance is disregarded entirely for Medicaid eligibility.

Note for the estate planners among you: ABLE accounts carry a Medicaid payback provision at the beneficiary’s death.

NOSSCR Advocacy

As of today, no entity is responsible for telling families about the age-17 window. The IRS administers Trump Accounts and does not know which children are disabled. The SSA knows exactly which children receive SSI and will be facing an age-18 redetermination, but they lack visibility into who holds a tax-advantaged account and have no current mandate to mention the rollover. The account trustee holds the money but has no obligation to flag the ABLE option.

The family in the middle is expected to connect a provision of the tax code to a provision of the Social Security Act on their own, in a specific twelve-month window, with no notice.

NOSSCR is working collaboratively with policymakers to find a common-sense solution—such as an automated advisory notice sent to the childhood SSI cohort as they approach age 17.

But until the system catches up, trusted representatives are a possible notice mechanism. If you represent families with disabled children, or your client is a parent whose child receives SSI, add one simple question to your intake and age-18 redetermination preparation: “Does this child have a Trump Account?”

If the answer is yes and the child is approaching 17, advise the family to contact their ABLE program and the account trustee about executing the rollover during the correct calendar year. Five minutes of issue-spotting can preserve a lifeline of SSI and Medicaid eligibility for your clients.

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