La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § VI-509

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section VI-509 - Establishment of an ABLE Account

A. An ABLE account is established by or on behalf of an eligible individual to provide the funding necessary for qualified disability expenses (QDEs).

B. Only one ABLE account may be established for an eligible individual, whether the account is established in Louisiana or with another ABLE program.

C. The eligible individual must be a Louisiana resident as defined in §507 and must meet the following citizenship requirements:

1. be a United States citizen; or

2. be a permanent resident of the United States as defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or its successor and provide copies of USCIS documentation with the submission of the owner's agreement; or

3. be lawfully residing in the United States and have a valid Social Security number.

D. Through April 30, 2021, an ABLE account may be established by the account owner or an administrator who is authorized by law or by authentic act to administer the account on behalf of the account owner.

1. An administrator who is not the account owner may establish an account on behalf of an eligible individual upon provision of documentation to LOSFA evidencing that person has the legal right to act on behalf of the eligible individual.

2. Documentation required to establish an account on behalf of an eligible individual includes:

a. if a parent, a copy of the eligible individual's birth certificate;

b. if an adoptive parent, documentation evidencing the adoption of the eligible individual;

c. if a custodian, court documents evidencing the appointment of the custodian by a court of law;

d. if designated by the eligible individual to administer his affairs, documentation evidencing such designation;

e. if a juridical entity, documentation evidencing that the eligible individual, or a person authorized to act on his behalf, as indicated in §509.D.2 a-d above, has designated the juridical entity to act on his behalf for purposes of an LA ABLE account program account.

E. Beginning on May 1, 2021, an ABLE account may be established by or on behalf of an eligible individual by the highest ranked person listed below, who shall certify, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is authorized to establish an ABLE account on behalf of an eligible individual and that there is no other person with a higher priority who is willing or able to do so:

1. a person selected by the eligible individual or by an agent appointed by the eligible individual;

2. a custodian appointed by a court of law or a legal guardian;

3. the spouse of the eligible individual;

4. a parent of the eligible individual;

5. a sibling of the eligible individual;

6. a grandparent of the eligible individual;

7. a representative payee appointed by the Social Security Administration.

F. Program Enrollment Period. An account may be established at any time during the calendar year.

G. Completing the Owner's Agreement

1. This agreement must be completed and signed by the administrator.

2. The administrator who is also the account owner may designate a limited power of attorney to an administrator who would be authorized to act on his behalf in the event the account owner becomes incapacitated.

3. The administrator must certify:

a. that the person for whom the account is being established is an eligible individual as defined in §507;

b. that the eligible individual is a Louisiana resident;

c. that the eligible individual meets the citizenship requirements set forth in §509 B;

d. that if he is not the eligible individual, that he is authorized by law or by authentic act to open and administer the ABLE account on behalf of the eligible individual and that there is no other person higher in priority as provided in Subsection E.1-7 who is willing and able to do so;

e. that he will provide the documentation necessary to establish the certifications made for Subsections D.2.a-d upon request by LOSFA or the Internal Revenue Service;

f. that he will notify LOSFA immediately upon a determination that the person for whom the ABLE account was opened has ceased to be an eligible individual as that term is defined in §507;

g. that he will annually certify that the person for whose benefit the account was opened continues to be an eligible individual as defined in §507;

h. that he has read and understands the owner's agreement and participation materials.

4. The administrator agrees to the following terms when completing the account owner's agreement.

a. All transactions involving the ABLE account will be reported to the Social Security Administration on a monthly basis.

b. Fees

i. Except for penalties which may be imposed on refunds, the LATTA shall not charge fees for the opening or the maintenance of a fixed earnings account.

ii. Fees imposed by investment institutions for opening or maintenance of variable earnings accounts may be charged to the account owner.

c. Financial and investment institutions may be authorized by the LATTA to offer prospective owners information and assistance in opening an ABLE account.

d. Only the account owner, his heirs, or his estate may be designated to receive refunds from the ABLE account. In the event of the death of the account owner when the account owner is designated to receive the refund or when no successor beneficiary is named, the refund shall be made to the Disability Services Fund established by R.S.28.826(B)(2)(d).

H. Acceptance of the Owner's Agreement

1. A properly completed and submitted owner's agreement will be reviewed within 48 hours of receipt for completeness. If additional information is required to accept the owner's agreement, the Administrator will be contacted to provide that information.

2. Upon acceptance of the owner's agreement, the LATTA will establish the ABLE account.

I. Providing Personal Information

1. The administrator is required to disclose personal information regarding the eligible individual, including:

a. his Social Security number;

b. his date of birth; and

c. his relationship to the administrator.

2. If not the eligible individual, the administrator will be required to disclose the following information:

a. his relationship to the eligible individual;

b. if a parent of the eligible individual, his Social Security number.

3. The eligible individual's Social Security number and federal and state employer identification numbers will be used for purposes of federal and state income tax reporting to access individual account information for administrative purposes, and to provide necessary reports to the Social Security Administration.

4. The following protected health information is collected only for IRS reporting purposes:

a. basis for the eligible individual's eligibility:

i. code A-Social Security disability Income- title II SSA;

ii. code B-Social Security income-title XVI SSA;

iii. code C-eligible individual is the subject of a disability certification filed with the IRS for 2016;

b. type of disability:

i. code 1-developmental disorders, including autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger's disorder, development delays, learning disabilities;

ii. code 2-intellectual disability. May be reported as mild, moderate or severe intellectual disability;

iii. code 3-psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anorexia nervosa; attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), bipolar disorder;

iv. code 4-nervous disorders, including blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, juvenile-onset Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, severe sensorineural hearing loss, congenital cataracts;

v. code 5-congenital anomalies: chromosomal abnormalities, including down syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, xeroderma pigmentosum, spinal muscular atrophy, fragile X syndrome, Edwards syndrome;

vi. code 6-respiratory disorders: cystic fibrosis;

vii. code 7-other: includes tetrology of fallot, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, end-stage liver disease, juvenile-onset rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell disease, hemophilia; and any other disability not listed under codes 1-6.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § VI-509

Promulgated by the Tuition Trust Authority, Office of Student Financial Assistance, LR 43640 (4/1/2017), Amended LR 441888 (10/1/2018), Amended LR 47575 (5/1/2021), Amended LR 50490 (4/1/2024).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:3081-3089.