Real Economic Impact for Americans with Disabilities

1. Real Economic ImpactforAmericans with Disabilities Assessable Assets: Bringing Together the Disability and Asset-Building Communities National Disability Institute November 11, 2009 Johnette Hartnett, Ed.D Director Research & REI Tour

2. National Disability Institute Build a better economic future Americans with disabilities. National Disability Institute is a national research and development organization to promote income preservation and asset development for persons with disabilities nationwide.

3. What is Asset Development? • Asset Development is a series of strategies that has the potential to help people with disabilities improve their economic status, expand opportunities for community participation, and positively impact the quality of life experience.

4. Why is Asset Development Important to Persons with Disabilities? Access to Assets • Provide greater financial security and independence • Improve community participation and quality of life • Improve mental and physical health • Increase positive self-concept • Increase status and expectations with other community stakeholders

5. Disability Prevalence • Sensory 4.3% or 11.7 million • Physical 9.4% or 25.7 million • Mental 5.8% or 15.9 million • Self-Care 3.0% or 8.2 million • Go-Outside Home 5.4% or 12.4 million • Employment 7.0% or 13.6 million Cornell 2008 Disability Status Report Ages 5 and Older

6. Asset Poverty • Asset poverty varies significantly by race and gender • 33% of all American households have zero or negative net assets. • 54% of Hispanic households have a similar status. • 60% of African American households have no net assets. • For persons with disabilities, estimates are as high as 80%.

7. Increase Economic Stability through EITC Earned Income Tax Credit • Represents about 25% of total income for year • Is a credit for people who do not earn high incomes • Reduce taxes and results in a refund • Workers keep more of what they earn • 589,129 returns claimed EITC in 2009 • EITC increased by 10.5% in 2009 (electronic file and Tax Wise data not paid preparers) • $793.6 million in EITC returns

8. EITC Favorable Impact on Taxpayers Receiving Public Benefits Federal Law generally excludes counting EITC as additional income in determining eligibility for other federal public benefits. Including SSI, Medicaid, Veteran’s Benefits, HeadStart, etc.

9. Taxpayer Research Customer Characteristics: RS SPEC Benchmark Study, May 2007 • 5.5 million taxpayers filing a return with a disability between 18 & 59 • Additional 1.3 to 1.6 million non-filers working with a disability • Median AGI of $19,100 vs. $33,800 for non-disabled • 51% had AGI < than $20,000 vs. 32% of non-disabled

10. Taxpayer Research • 59% use a computer at home compared to 76% of persons with no disability • 31% prepare own return compared to 42% with no disability • 66% use paid preparer compared to 56% with no disability • 10% use tax prep software compared to 20% with no disability • 37% less likely to have savings or investments compared to 51% with no disability IRS SPEC Benchmark Study (May 2007)

11. Taxpayer Research Survey results of 3,199 filers walking into free tax preparation sites in NYC, Wichita, West Palm Beach, and Boston (Ford Study, NDI, 2006) • 30% checking account • 12% savings account • 24% had both checking and savings • 25% received EITC • 57% need special accommodations to file taxes and do banking • 0% had an Individual Development Account (matched savings accounts) • 12% on SSI • 9% on SSDI • 42 average age compared to 32 years for non-disability taxpayer using free tax assistance

12. Taxpayer Research NDI/IRS W&I Research OMB Approved Focus Study Instrument • Fear of losing health care coverage if they work or save (SSI has resource limit for single beneficiary of $2000) • Desire to get off public benefits • Lack of basic financial and tax knowledge • Lack of relationship with local financial institution • Lack of access to accessible financial and tax services, products and information • Lack of materials in alternative formats (Braille, CD, large print, 504 compliant websites and software, etc.)

13. Major Asset Building Tool Access to Free Tax Assistance National Community Tax Coalition www.NCTC.org • Over 300 coalitions with over 15,000 volunteers provide free tax preparation • In 2009 over 3 million returns prepared • Representing over $3 billion in refunds Real Economic Impact Tour www.reitour.org • 100 REI Tour Cities in 2010 campaign • 59 cities in 2009 received mini grants to build disability capacity • 181,152 returns prepared - $176.6 mil returns and $36.2 mil saved in preparer fees

14. Mayors’ Offices United Way IRS FDIC Taxpayers Assistance Services Financial Planning Association IDA Providers EITC Coalitions Financial Institutions Community Action Agencies Goodwill International One Stop Employment Offices National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions AT&T and Veteran Affinity Wounded Warriors State Developmental Disabilities Councils Easter Seals Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Workers Centers for Independent Living Disability Program Navigators Associations for the Blind and Deaf National Council on Independent Living Bank of America Disability Affinity Group Merrill Lynch Veteran Service Organizations WallMart 54Freedom Building New Relationships

15. REI Tour Activities Purpose: Increase knowledge about tax filing and financial services through fee tax assistance and other asset building strategies. • Development of disability workgroup • Volunteer tax preparation assistance • Participate in monthly calls during tax season • Participate in REI Tour audio conference series • Participate in yearly National Mayor’s Academy • Opportunity to participate in coalition’s financial education and asset building programs

16. REI Tour Activities • Training about access and use of public benefits • Development of Corporate Affinity Groups (Disability and Veteran) • Training about federal work incentives and public benefits to promote self-sufficiency • Training and technical assistance in how to leverage existing community resources such as One Stops, Disability Program Navigators, Vocational Rehabilitation, SSA Work Incentive Program Assistance, employee disability and veteran affinity groups – includes AT&T and Bank of America.

17. Measures of Success Real Economic Impact Tour success is measured by a series of performance indicators: Short Term • # of free returns filed • # of EITC refunds • $ of refunds • # of New Partnerships – National, State and Local • # of Outreaches – Fliers, PSA’s, Media Long Term • Access to accessible financial and tax education, knowledge and relationships • Reduced reliance on social security benefits • Increase use of financial incentives and benefits

18. REI Tour Outcomes TOTAL: 332,903 $312.3 mil $66.4 mil

19. New Tools and Strategies for Building Disability Inclusive Economic Empowerment • Asset Summits – 20 summits in 5 states • Financial Fitness Expos – 5 expos • Financial Education – Pilot testing curriculum in three states and designing web-based curriculum for State of Fl

20. New Tools and Strategies for Building Disability Inclusive Economic Empowerment • REI Tour DeafTax.com Pilot (2009) Use of Video Relay Service (VRS) Technology to test pilot preparing taxes for deaf taxpayers in real time remotely six cities 2009 • BEST Fl Project – Building Economic Strength Together – Wounded Warrior, Provider Network and Youth with Disabilities – tested 6 month curriculum (75 participants) • VISA developed Financial Soccer full of questions about disability and public benefits

21. Join REI TOUR in your city! Go to www.reitour.org www.REITour.org Johnette Hartnett JHartnett@ndi-inc.org (202) 296-2043 Michael Roush Mroush@ndi-inc.org (727) 278-1352