ABLE & Marriage Planner (know the trade-offs)
Two things that quietly change a person's benefits: an ABLE account (save up to $100,000 without breaking the SSI limit) and marriage (the SSI couple penalty, spousal deeming, and the DAC 'marriage cliff'). This planner organizes the questions to settle — and bring to a free WIPA counselor — before you act. It affirms the right to marry and lays out the real trade-offs honestly; it never tells you to conceal or misstate anything to an agency.
Organize your application
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded; your answers are saved only on this device.
Understand each step (for parents figuring it out)
Explain in depth: You have every right to marry
People with disabilities can and do have loving, committed relationships and marriages. This planner is not about telling anyone what to do with their heart - it's about walking in with eyes open, because the benefit rules hide some real financial traps. Whatever you decide, get your specific numbers run first.
Explain in depth: The SSI marriage penalty
Two people who each get SSI (about $994 each) drop to the couple rate of about $1,491 if they marry - roughly a $497/month cut - and their combined asset limit falls from $4,000 to $3,000. If an SSI recipient marries someone NOT on SSI, part of that spouse's income can be 'deemed' to them, reducing or ending their SSI and threatening Medicaid.
Explain in depth: The DAC marriage cliff
If you receive a Disabled Adult Child benefit, getting legally married normally ends it - with one exception: marrying another Social Security (Title II) beneficiary, such as another DAC or an SSDI/retirement beneficiary, usually preserves it. The trap: marrying someone who gets ONLY SSI does not protect your DAC. Call SSA before marrying to confirm the specific person's status.
Explain in depth: Religious vs legal marriage - told straight
In most of these states, a religious or commitment ceremony without a civil license is not a legal marriage. But it is not a clean way around the SSI penalty: SSA's 'holding out as married' rule can count a couple as married even with no license if they live together and present to their community as married. And knowingly misrepresenting marital status to an agency is a federal crime. We give you the honest facts, not a workaround - bring your situation to a WIPA counselor or special-needs attorney and plan around the rules honestly.
Explain in depth: ABLE: save without losing benefits
An ABLE account lets a person with a disability save money without breaking the SSI $2,000 limit - up to $100,000 is ignored, and even above that SSI only suspends (Medicaid keeps going). As of 2026, anyone whose disability began before age 46 can open one. ABLE funds can pay for housing, transportation, health, assistive technology, education, and everyday living costs.
Frequently asked
Does marrying end my benefits?
It depends on which benefit. SSI has a couple penalty and spousal deeming; a Disabled Adult Child benefit usually ends on marriage UNLESS you marry another Social Security beneficiary. The planner explains it and routes you to run YOUR numbers with WIPA before deciding.
Is a religious-only ceremony a way around the SSI penalty?
Not cleanly — Social Security's 'holding out as married' rule can count a couple as married even without a license if they live together and present as married. And misrepresenting marital status to an agency is a federal crime. We give you the honest facts, not a workaround.
What can ABLE pay for?
Housing, transportation, health, assistive technology, education, and everyday living costs — broadly, disability-related expenses. The planner explains the $100,000 SSI exclusion and the 2026 age-46 eligibility change.