Get Individual Development Account (ida) Program

An Individual Development Account (IDA) program is a savings incentive program that provides eligible participants with a matched grant of up to $4 for every $1 that a participant saves. Participants can withdraw their savings and the matched grant money to buy their first home, start a business, or pay for college.

The Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program helps refugees and other ORR-eligible populations save toward an asset that will help increase financial independence. The program helps refugees understand what assets are, how the U.S. financial system works, and how to manage their money.

One of the benefits of using both programs together is that it allows you to set up a nonfederally funded IDA without threatening your SSI or Medi-Cal benefits. As long as the money you save in your IDA is part of a PASS plan, it will not be counted by SSI or Medi-Cal and you won't lose those benefits.

An Individual Development Account, or IDA, is a special savings account for people with low incomes. If you save in an IDA, your money will be matched with donations. That means that you can receive another dollar or more for every dollar you save in an IDA.

Eligibility for IDA support depends first and foremost on a country's relative poverty, defined as GNI per capita below an established threshold and updated annually ($1,255 in the fiscal year 2023).

Program Eligibility Your annual income must be 200% of the Federal Poverty Level ($29,160 for an individual, $39,440 for a couple) or less. Exception: In some cases, you may qualify if your income is 65-85% of the median income in your area.

IDA participants are allowed to withdraw money as soon as they have reached their savings goal, but they must first get approval from the IDA program sponsor. Some IDA participants choose one big savings goal, such as a home, but others save for a number of smaller, related goals, such as textbooks and college tuition.

An Individual Development Account, also known as an “IDA," is a savings account for low-income workers that can be used for small-business development, higher education, or the purchase of a first home.