If someone in your family gets Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid, the biggest planning rule is a small number: SSI stops once countable savings pass $2,000 for one person, a limit that hasn’t changed since 1989. Families keep that from happening with two tools: an ABLE account, which can take up to $20,000 a year in 2026, and a special needs trust. A one-time plan from a fee-only planner costs a median $2,000; an attorney drafts the trust.
Federal SSI and ABLE rules for 2026
Source: Social Security Administration, POMS
The benefit rules
SSI’s $2,000 limit. Cash, bank accounts and most investments count. A home and one car generally don’t. A couple’s limit is $3,000. The maximum federal payment is $994 a month in 2026, rising to $1,029 in January 2027.
Age 18 changes everything. Until the month a child turns 18, SSA counts part of the parents’ income toward the child’s SSI. After that, only the young adult’s own income and savings count. Some children who couldn’t get SSI qualify at 18, so planning before then matters.
Childhood disability benefits. An adult whose disability began before age 22 can receive Social Security benefits on a parent’s record once that parent retires, becomes disabled or dies. It’s separate from SSI. A planner should factor it into the family’s retirement and Social Security decisions.
ABLE accounts
An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged account owned by the person with the disability.
- Who qualifies. From January 1, 2026, someone whose blindness or disability began before age 46, up from 26. Each person can have only one ABLE account.
- How much goes in. Up to $20,000 in 2026 from everyone combined. A beneficiary who works and isn’t putting money into a workplace retirement plan can add more, up to their earnings or the one-person federal poverty line, whichever is lower. They can also claim the Saver’s Credit on their contributions.
- How SSI treats it. The first $100,000 doesn’t count toward the $2,000 limit. Above that, SSI is suspended, but Medicaid continues.
- What it pays for. Qualified disability expenses, tax-free: education, housing, transport, health care, assistive technology and more. Money taken for housing should be spent in the month it comes out, or it counts as savings the next month.
- When the beneficiary dies. After final expenses, a state can claim what’s left to repay Medicaid.
- Rollovers from a 529. A 529 can be rolled into an ABLE account for the beneficiary or a family member, within the yearly limit. A 2025 law made that permanent. See our guide to saving for college with a 529.
An ABLE account doesn’t count as an asset on the FAFSA, either.
Special needs trusts
A special needs trust holds money for someone with a disability without counting against their SSI or Medicaid. There are three kinds, and which one you need depends on whose money goes in.
| Kind | Funded with | Payback to Medicaid at death? |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party trust | Family money: parents, grandparents, life insurance | No. What’s left goes to whoever you name |
| First-party trust, called a (d)(4)(A) trust | The person’s own money, such as an inheritance or settlement | Yes. The state is repaid first. Must be set up before age 65 |
| Pooled trust, called a (d)(4)(C) trust | The person’s own money, in a separate account run by a nonprofit | Yes, unless the nonprofit keeps the remainder. No age limit |
How payments work. Cash handed to the beneficiary counts as income and can cut SSI. Paying a provider directly for things like therapy, a phone bill, school or travel generally doesn’t. Paying for rent or other housing counts as support and can reduce SSI, though it’s sometimes still worth doing.
The trustee matters as much as the document. The trustee decides every payment. Choose someone who will learn the rules, or a professional or nonprofit trustee, and name a backup.
Common mistakes
- Leaving money to the child outright in a will, an IRA or a life insurance policy.
- Not telling relatives. A grandparent’s well-meant bequest can end SSI. Ask them to leave money to the third-party trust instead.
- Building savings in the child’s name, such as a custodial account, before they turn 18.
- Putting family money in a first-party trust, so Medicaid gets repaid from money that never needed to be.
- Skipping the decisions at 18: guardianship or a less restrictive option such as a power of attorney or supported decision-making, applying for SSI, and opening an ABLE account.
- No letter of intent. A written guide to your child’s routines, care and preferences helps whoever takes over.
When a fee-only advisor is worth it
For most families, at least once. A planner who knows this area works out how much the trust should hold, how to fund it (often with life insurance), how much should go into an ABLE account each year, and how your own retirement and Social Security decisions affect your child. The plan has to last two lifetimes: yours, and your child’s after you’re gone.
Look for experience first. The Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC) shows training in government benefits, special needs trusts and guardianship. It isn’t a law license, so the trust itself is drafted by an attorney, usually one who specializes in special needs. It also says nothing about pay, so check that a planner is fee-only on the SEC’s adviser search. Life insurance often funds these trusts, and it’s usually sold on commission; a fee-only planner earns nothing from the policy they recommend.
What it costs
| How you pay | Typical cost (US median) | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $300 an hour | Checking an existing plan, or questions around age 18 |
| One-time plan | $2,000 | Sizing the trust, ABLE and insurance in one plan |
| Ongoing planning fee | $4,500 a year | Families managing a trust, benefits and their own retirement over years |
These are prices fee-only firms publish on their own websites, from the Wellspent fee report. Attorneys’ fees for drafting a special needs trust aren’t widely published; ask for a flat quote. See what a one-time plan costs.
Questions to ask a planner
- How many families with a member on SSI or Medicaid have you worked with?
- Do you work with a special needs attorney you’d recommend?
- How would you size the trust and fund it?
- How do you coordinate an ABLE account with the trust?
- Do you sell insurance or earn anything other than what I pay you?
Where to look
In the public graph, start with multi-generational families, the estate planning and family wealth transfer specialties, or the lists of family wealth transfer specialists and advisors for multi-generational families. Parents caring for both a child and an aging parent should also read our guide to a financial advisor for aging parents.