Author: Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director, Savings Plans, First National Bank

On Purple Heart Day, we commemorate recipients of the nation’s oldest military award. Created by George Washington to acknowledge meritorious performance of duty, in 1942 the Purple Heart was authorized to specifically recognize members of the military wounded in actions against an enemy of the United States. Today, an estimated 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been awarded nationwide.

Purple Heart Day provides us an opportunity to pause and appreciate the important struggles so many men and women faced while demonstrating their devotion to our country, and continue to endure today. Ultimately this holiday serves as a powerful reminder that these sacrifices did not come without a cost, prompting us to reflect on the many heroes who experience injuries or disabilities after serving.

Here at Enable, we believe the noble fight for freedom warrants more than just acknowledgement. In fact, we believe these men and women deserve a certain freedom of their own—financial freedom. While the ABLE Act currently limits account eligibility to those whose disability occurred before age 26, it is our hope that future legislation will expand this specification to include individuals through age 46 in order to provide savings opportunities to veterans with disabilities. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act, part of ABLE 2.0, is a bill proposing this very change. We encourage you to contact your state’s congressional representatives, asking them to support the ABLE Act age increase. If passed, veterans around the country who experience service-related disabilities with onsets well past the age of 26 would benefit, experiencing long-term financial independence. We support this legislation, because on Purple Heart Day and every day, we honor and value our wounded warriors.

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