Children's Savings Accounts Offer Parents Plenty Of Reasons To Understand and Invest in Tuition Yearly Act or the CSA OPPORTUNITY Act
This bill excludes the value of certain children's savings accounts, provided they meet specified requirements, when determining eligibility for particular means-tested federal programs.
To be excluded, the savings account must be created as part of a program organized by a government, nonprofit, school district, or college or university and meet other administrative criteria. Furthermore, proceeds of the account may only be used for postsecondary educational expenses, the purchase of a first home, or costs associated with starting a business once the individual receives a secondary school diploma or equivalent.
Programs subject to this bill are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI), and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). If a state considers the value of children’s savings accounts in determining TANF eligibility in violation of this bill, the Department of Health and Human services is directed to reduce the state’s TANF grant for the next fiscal year.
