Mary Morris
Session Title: Planning for Disability Related Expenses with ABLEnow
Overview:
More independence, greater financial security and a better quality of life – that’s the future ABLEnow is building. ABLEnow accounts offer a tax-advantaged way to save—while giving advisors opportunities to guide clients toward the best options. With the ABLE Age Adjustment Act taking effect in 2026, accessibility to ABLE accounts will expand and many clients will seek information on setting up an account.
About Mary
Mary G. Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Savers (formerly known as Virginia529), which provides the largest tax-advantaged education savings program in the country with the direct Invest529 and advisor CollegeAmerica programs; the tax-advantaged disability savings ABLEnow and ABLEAmerica programs; and RetirePath Virginia, a state-facilitated workplace private retirement program launched in June 2023. Commonwealth Savers also sponsors SOAR Virginia, which administers a variety of scholarship and access, affordability, and attainment initiatives to foster inclusion in educational access and make postsecondary education more affordable and accessible to all.
Mary works with the executive team to develop the strategic vision and coordinates the operations, resources, outreach, and investments of Commonwealth Savers; she is involved in state and federal legislative and governance issues relating to 529, ABLE and private retirement initiatives and policy. Mary is a lawyer and, in private practice, specialized in tax, public finance, securities and ESG matters. In the public sector, earlier in her career she served as a Virginia Senior Assistant Attorney General for Tax and Finance and served a term as the Treasurer of Virginia.
Mary earned her Juris Doctor and Master of Law and Taxation from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary. She is active in both national 529 organizations, serving as Chair of the College Savings Plans Network and is a former Chair of the College Savings Foundation. Mary is a member of the boards of the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE) and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) and a former board member of Junior Achievement of Central Virginia (JACV).