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Aged, Blind and Disabled Manual Policy Manual Number: 110.050 Section: Financial Eligibility Requirements Chapter: ABD Countable and Excluded Resources

September 1, 2026 Division of TennCare 2 Resource Term Type or Characteristic Defined Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts Resource Type ABLE accounts or 529A accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities that are established under a qualified ABLE program. The funds in an ABLE account are intended to cover an individual’s Qualified Disability Expenses (QDEs) related to her blindness or disability. QDEs include, but are not limited to: education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology and personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, financial management and administrative services, legal fees, funeral and burial expenses and basic living expenses. The balance within a single ABLE account for an individual, including contributions and earnings, is excluded as a resource. This includes contributions made by an ABLE account owner from his own resources and contributions made by a third party, including a trust. Distributions from an ABLE account are excluded if used or intended to be used for QDEs as long as the distributions are identifiable. Distributions from an ABLE account used for non- qualified expenses are excluded if spent in the month of receipt. Distributions from an ABLE account are countable when: • Distributions are retained past the month of receipt and are used for, or intended to be used for, non-qualified disability expenses; • Distributions are retained past the month of receipt and were previously excluded because intended for a QDE, but used for a non-qualified expense. Count the amount of funds used as a resource the month in which funds were spent; or • Distributions are retained past the month of receipt, have not been spent, and the intent to use the funds for a QDE has changed. Count the retained funds as a resource the following month.