CENTRALIA — Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs visited today with parents and guardians of Warren G. Murray Developmental Center residents to discuss a new program to help disabled people invest money without jeopardizing their federal disability benefits.

Frerichs announced the National Achieving for a Better Life Experience Alliance or ABLE accounts last month following two years of negotiations with 13 participating states.

The program allows people with disabilities or blindness and their families to make tax-free investments of up to $100,000 and put those proceeds toward disability-related expenses. An account can grow up to $100,000 before Social Security benefits are suspended.

Frerichs said today that prior to the ABLE account program, disabled individuals could have less than $2,000 in assets before they would lose their federal benefits, an amount that has not increased in nearly 30 years.

Costs to participate in the program will vary by participant but Frerichs says the fee structure is the nation’s lowest.