What happens to my state and federal benefits?
Your CalABLE account will not count against your eligibility for federal or California state benefits, unless your account exceeds a balance of $100,000. Once your account exceeds $100,000 your SSI would be suspended and your eligibility for California state and local means-tested programs could be at risk. Your account balance will never affect your eligibility for Medicaid/Medi-Cal.
For example, if you have $2,500 in your CalABLE account, that $2,500 does not count as an asset for purposes of determining your eligibility for federal or California public benefits programs, like SSI or Medicaid.
If you receive SSI benefits and your CalABLE account balance exceeds $100,000, your SSI benefits will be suspended (but not terminated). Once your balance drops below the maximum account balance, you can notify the Social Security Administration to have your SSI benefits resume, and you may resume making contributions to your account.
In addition, money you withdraw and use for housing expenses may affect your SSI benefits if you do not spend it right away. To avoid any impact to your SSI benefits, be sure to spend housing money within the same calendar month that you withdraw it. For example, if you withdraw $500 from your CalABLE account on January 3rd for rent, you must pay that rent money by January 31st. As long as you do not hold housing funds over from one calendar month to the next, they will not affect your SSI benefits.
