BATON ROUGE - Louisiana has started a new tax-free savings account program that will allow families set aside money to help children with disabilities pay for expenses.

Treasurer Ron Henson and the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance announced the program 's launch. The program is tied to a 2016 state law called the Louisiana Achieving a better Life Experience Act - or the Louisiana ABLE Act.

Henson says that people struggling to provide for their family members with disabilities will be able to deposit dollars tax-free into an ABLE account for qualified expenses like education, housing, transportation, employment training, health care and other items.

The dollars will be invested and can earn interest.

An ABLE account owner can save up to $14,000 per year and continue receiving Medicaid and Social Security benefits.