Currently, the qualifying age of onset for disabilities is 26. Unfortunately, this leaves a huge portion of the population struggling if their disability developed later in life.
However, upcoming changes to the ABLE Act will provide protection for a whole new group of individuals, and more.
An increase in qualifying age of disability onset
Disability Scoop discusses the newly approved federal spending bill set to allocate more resources to the ABLE Act. This act allocates $1.7 trillion in funding for special education, including expansion on ABLE accounts and addressing issues with shock therapy for disabled individuals.
One of the biggest upcoming changes to the ABLE Act includes an increase in the qualifying age of disability. As mentioned, the age currently stands at 26, meaning a person must have their disability diagnosis by age 26 to count.
Starting in the year 2026, however, this age will rise to 46. This will provide an entirely new age bracket with the ability to qualify. In particular, this will likely help out many military veterans who often do not manifest disability symptoms until years or even decades after their service.
Lives impacted by the changes
An additional 6.2 million people will likely gain eligibility through this raised age limit. This could bring an end to a long fight on behalf of older disabled individuals to increase the age limit for qualifying onset.
The age limit of 26 is a leftover from the 1980s, and many people argue that it has no place in the modern century. These steps to address the issues could do a lot to help older disabled individuals.