Legislation has been introduced in Congress called the America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education (ASPIRE) Act, which would create a Kids Investment and Development Account ("KIDS" Account) for every child born in 2007 and after. Each child would receive a starter deposit of $500 from the government.Children from households below the national median income would be eligible for a supplemental contribution up to an additional $500. Further limited contributions from any source could be deposited into the account and grow tax-free. Low and moderate-income children would have their savings matched.

    The problem is that the legislation, as now written, overlooks the unique needs of children with severe disabilities. As just one example, the proposed law assumes that all children will have the cognitive and legal capacit, when they become adults, to get a post-secondary education, buy their own home, or retire after a lifetime of working.

 

 

    UDES wants any proposed Kids' Accounts legislation to address the unique issues that may arise for children either born with or who will later develop severe cognitive or other disabling conditions. For example, any proposed Kids' Account legislation ought to recognize that severely cognitively disabled children are very likely as adults to have low incomes consisting principally of SSI benefits, and therefore ought to receive a supplemental contribution to their accounts.

 

 

    UDES will pursue this issue primarily through the New America Foundation, the major organization that's been pushing for the Kids' Accounts legislation and other asset-building measures for low to moderate-income people.

 

 

    Right now, UDES is working to identify and contact potential partners on this issue.