The Arc of Texas Master Pooled Trust

The Arc of Texas has advocated for the rights of Texans with disabilities since 1953. We started the Master Pooled Trust since 1997 and understand trust laws and governmental requirements, and our investments are professionally managed.

Any Texas resident who meets the Social Security Administration’s definition of a person with a disability is eligible for our Master Pooled Trust. It’s NOT limited to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

The beneficiary and family determine how trust funds are distributed, outlined in a legally binding Joinder Agreement. We follow Social Security and Medicaid regulations to ensure disbursements won’t cause a loss of government benefits.

Unlike traditional bank trusts, we offer low enrollment costs and fees, low minimum/no maximum requirements, no fees for non-funded sub-accounts. A trust can be funded with the beneficiary’s own money or family can provide funds from an insurance policy, estate or other sources to create ongoing income for their loved one.

While government benefits cover your housing and basic medical care, your trust funds can pay for nonessential medical supplies and services, eyeglasses, insurance premiums, diapers, travel, entertainment, and more. These things are called “supplemental needs.”

We earn excellent customer service satisfaction ratings, including the ease of our simple disbursement procedures. Additionally, we offer trust beneficiaries and their families free information and referral services, training, legislative updates, and more.

Todd was 34 when paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident. His attorney was concerned, rather than relieved, when Todd was awarded a generous settlement from a personal injury lawsuit. She knew the additional income meant Todd would no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid benefits that were paying for his primary living needs. To keep his benefits intact, they established a trust account with The Arc of Texas’ Master Pooled Trust in Todd’s name, allowing the court to award the settlement directly to the trust. Todd initially considered a traditional bank trust, but the responsibility of managing his trust worried him. The fact that The Arc of Texas manages his trust for him, including monitoring changing rules and regulations, gave him comfort and made the decision easy.

Weighing only 14 ounces, Brianne was, at the time, the smallest baby to survive at Methodist Hospital in Dallas. As a result of her premature birth, Brianne has several serious medical complications, and her parents depend on government benefits to provide her with nursing care, physical therapy, catheters, and oxygen tanks. A local Kiwanis Club raised money to help Brianne’s family. However, knowing her benefits would be in danger if they accepted this gift, her parents thought they’d need to decline the help. Instead, their attorney suggested they open a trust account with The Arc of Texas Master Pooled Trust. Now, Brianne’s trust covers the cost of materials Medicaid does not, such as diapers, eyeglasses, and travel to her grandmother.

Ethan, an active 8-year-old who has various intellectual disabilities, dreams about his future. He wants to work at a library and live in his own apartment. Ethan’s parents are planning for his future, too, to make sure when Ethan moves out of their home he continues to have everything he needs to lead a happy and productive life. His parents started their planning process by opening a trust account with The Arc of Texas’ Master Pooled Trust. In addition to funding the account through their life insurance policies, they invested $10,000 of their savings to the trust so that Ethan’s trust funds will grow while he grows, so they can be sure Ethan will have money available throughout his adulthood.

Jorge and Teresa specified in their wills that they want to leave assets from their estate to their daughter, Claudia, who has cerebral palsy. Their attorney suggested they direct the assets into a trust account with The Arc of Texas’ Master Pooled Trust to ensure that when Claudia receives her inheritance, she will remain eligible for government benefits. Claudia’s parents wanted assurance the money would be used the way they intended, so they enrolled Claudia in the trust now even though the account would not be funded until the time of their deaths. This allowed them to put their wishes for Claudia in writing through a legally binding Master Pooled Trust Joinder Agreement.