Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Account
Termination
1. The administrator may
terminate an ABLE account at any time.
2. Through April 30, 2021, in the event the
person for whose benefit the account was opened is no longer an
eligible individual as defined in §507, the administrator
shall
a. terminate the account; or
b. transfer the account to another eligible
individual who is also a member of the family of the original eligible
individual within 60 days of the determination that the original
eligible individual is no longer qualified.
3. Beginning on May 1, 2021, in the event the
person for whose benefit the account was opened ceases to be an
eligible individual as defined in §507, the account may remain
open through the end of the fifth full calendar year during which the person
ceases to be an
eligible individual as defined in
§507 The administrator shall exercise one
of the following options by the end of the applicable calendar year:
a. terminate the account; or
b. transfer the account to another eligible
individual who is also a member of the family of the eligible
individual.
4. The LATTA
may terminate an account as follows.
a. If
LATTA determines that funds have been disbursed for expenses other than QDEs,
LATTA may require the return of the funds to the ABLE account. If funds are not
returned to the account within 60 days of a request to do so, LATTA, in its
sole discretion, may refund any balance remaining and close the
account.
b. The LATTA may terminate
an account if no deposit of at least $10 has been made within 180 days from the
date of notification of approval of the account.
c. The LATTA may terminate an account if the
eligible individual for whom the account was opened no longer meets the
criteria to be an eligible individual and a new eligible individual is not
named by the end of the fifth full calendar year during which the person for
whose benefit the account was opened ceases to be an eligible
individual.
d. The LATTA may
terminate an owner's agreement if it finds that the account owner or
beneficiary provided false or misleading information (see §507).
i. If the LATTA terminates an owner's
agreement under this Subsection, all interest earnings on principal deposits
may be withheld and forfeited, with only principal being refunded.
ii. An individual who obtains program
benefits by providing false or misleading information will be prosecuted to the
full extent of the law.
B. Refunds
1. Requests for refund may result in the
termination of the account and in the refund of:
a. the deposits invested in fixed earnings,
if the account has been open for less than 12 months;
b. the redemption value, if the account has
been open for 12 or more months;
c.
the deposits to or the current value of an account invested in a variable
earnings option, whichever is less, if the account has been open for less than
12 months;
d. the current value of
an account invested in variable earnings, if the account has been open for 12
or more months.
2.
Refunds from investment options with variable earnings shall be assigned a
trade date of one business day after the business day of receipt of the
request.
C. Designation
of a Refund Recipient. The refund recipient can only be the account owner, his
heirs, or his estate, and the administrator may designate the refund recipient
when completing the owner's agreement. If no refund recipient is designated,
the refund shall be made to the Disability Services Fund established by R.S.
28.826(B)(2)(d).
D. Voluntary
Termination of an Account
1. Refunds shall be
equal to the redemption value of the ABLE account at the time of the refund,
and shall be made to the person designated in the owner's agreement or by
rule.
2. The person receiving the
refund shall be responsible for any state or federal income tax that may be
payable due to the refund.
E. Effective Date of Account Termination.
Account termination shall be effective at midnight on the business day on which
the request for account termination and all supporting documents are received.
Accounts will be credited with interest earned on principal deposits through
the effective date of the closure of the account.
F. Refund Payments. Payment of refunds for
voluntary termination under
§515. D shall be made
within 30 days of the date on which the account was terminated. The termination
refund shall consist of the principal remaining in the account and interest
remaining in the account accrued on the principal through the end of the
calendar year preceding the year in which the request to terminate an account
is made. Interest earned in excess of $10 during the calendar year of
termination will be refunded within 45 days of the date the state treasurer
announces the interest rate for the preceding calendar year. Interest earned of
$10 or less during the calendar year of termination will be
forfeited.
G. Rollovers
1. Rollovers to another ABLE Account
Administered by LOSFA
a. An administrator may
rollover any part of an ABLE account to ABLE account if the beneficiary of the
account receiving the funds is a member of the family of the beneficiary of the
original account.
b. The current
value of the account from which the rollover is made will be transferred to the
new account.
2. Rollover
to another ABLE Program
a. An administrator
may request a rollover of the current value of the account to another qualified
ABLE program.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
17:3081-3089.
