PASS: Plan for Achieving Self Support

PASS It on for Success!

September may be the official end of summer, but this month brings us the beginning of not only the beautiful fall season but also FOOTBALL! The start of a new season can seem so promising. That anticipation and hope that this will be “the year” is thrilling. 

Okay, here’s the fantasy football hand-off: You’re the quarterback. You have the opportunity to PASS! Using an incredible Social Security work incentive, you send this beautiful spiral to your job seeker who makes a tremendous in-air catch with their vocational goals and gloriously lands in the end zone. And the crowd roars!

That flawless PASS you threw is the Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS). It’s a self-directed, self-funded Social Security work incentive that allows an individual to write their own playbook toward their personal vision of success!

PASS Without Pain

With a PASS, individuals with disabilities can set aside income and/or resources for a specified period of time. During that time, they can obtain items or services they need to reach their employment goal—whether that’s a new career or self-employment.  (More on those items or services later.)

Here’s how it works: When Social Security determines the amount of a beneficiary’s monthly check, they usually adjust the amount of earnings they count for a variety of different supports that the beneficiary may be relying on. That’s a good thing. It allows the worker or beneficiary to keep more of their benefit. 

If there’s a PASS plan in place, Social Security won’t count the money set aside in the plan as income, which means they’ll allow the beneficiary to keep a higher amount of their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) each month. Essentially, Social Security is helping PASS plan users save money without feeling the financial burden of the loss of expendable cash!

For example, Ava wants to be a hair stylist but doesn’t have the money to save for school, which will cost her $2,000. She works at a beauty supply store and sets up a PASS with Social Security to save $200 a month. The money goes in the bank, but Social Security won’t consider it as income, so she’ll continue to receive the same amount of benefit in her SSI check. After 10 months she will have saved for her goal, and she didn’t even feel the financial pain of having $200 less in her monthly income.

Who’s Eligible to Play?

Although PASS is a work incentive primarily used by SSI recipients, it can also be a viable option for those individuals who receive both SSI and SSDI benefits (also known as ‘concurrent beneficiaries’). PASS may be an option for some people who receive a lower SSDI check and could live on the Federal Benefit Rate for SSI ($771 for an individual in 2019).

To be eligible for PASS, a person must have income or assets other than their SSI check that they can use for savings. They also must have a feasible vocational goal and a need for items or resources to get them to that specific goal.  Participants must also want to decrease or eliminate their dependence on benefits through the completion of a PASS; like the name states, PASS is a Plan for Achieving SELF-SUPPORT!

Using PASS Savings

Money or resources set aside in a PASS are not counted for most benefits! This is a great way to be able to save in order to get ahead without those savings impacting eligibility for essential benefits, such as SSI, Medicaid, and SNAP. Maintaining access to benefits can be critical for those who want to try to work towards being less dependent, but who still need these supports in order to get to their long-term goals!


PASS funds can be used in various ways, such as:

• Saving for education or training
• Starting a business
• Purchasing medical equipment, assistive technology, or adaptive equipment needed for work
• Tools and equipment for a trade
• Funding for more job coaching or employment supports
• Child care or attendant care
• Purchasing a vehicle if needed for a vocational goal

And so many other services or items, as long as the end result is a job that makes the individual more self-sufficient!

If you know of a beneficiary who is willing to work toward a vocational goal, they may be the perfect candidate for a PASS. They can fill out a PASS application online (see the link below). Social Security even provides specially trained PASS specialists or “cadres” to help individuals complete the PASS. (Find a PASS specialist in your area.) 

Just as in football, this game isn’t played alone. A person can obtain assistance through their Social Security office, benefits counselor, employment consultant or even their Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, if working with VR. 

Once a PASS is approved, participants can save their funds until they reach their goal. Social Security can then PASS it on and…TOUCHDOWN!

PASS Resources

PASS Application
Plan for Achieving Self-Support: 2019 Fact Sheet
Working While Disabled--A Guide to Plan for Achieving Self-Support
PASS Online: Resource for the Plan for Self-Support (Cornell University)
2019 Social Security Red Book (see pages 26 and 27)

A Wealth of Savings Options

Until recently, people with disabilities had very few options for saving money. To protect their supports or health care from Medicaid or Social Security, individuals would choose not to work or would opt to work minimal hours. Sadly, we were keeping people poor. 

Workers with disabilities—just like everyone else—not only have the right to work, they also have the right to self-sufficiency. For many people that involves asset building, or the use of strategies that can increase wealth and savings and that can improve the possibility of owning things of value, such as a home or a business. Asset-building programs focus on long-term development for individuals and families. For more information on assets and asset building, see Prosperity Now’s frequently asked asset questions. 

Improving on the Piggy Bank

Fortunately, there are now several savings programs and work incentives designed just for workers with disabilities to help them develop their wealth, save for emergencies, move up the economic ladder with an education, own a house or a business, and become more stable and independent. 

Here are a few ways a job seeker can save money for future investments or self-sufficiency goals: 

• A Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) is a work incentive designed to help Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients work. It allows people with disabilities who receive SSI to set aside resources and/or various kinds of income for a specified period to use toward a work goal or to start a business. To qualify for a PASS, an individual must: 
• have a realistic work goal, 
• have a specific savings/spending plan for work-related items or services and specify how those items or services are related to employment, 
• have a clearly identifiable accounting of the funds set aside in the PASS, and 
• follow the PASS plan as agreed upon with SSA. 

         See the PASS fact sheet for more details.

• An Individual Development Account (IDA) is a special savings account matched by federal and state dollars ($4 to $1). IDAs can help low-income individuals and families save money for training or education, purchasing or rehabbing a home, buying a vehicle, or starting a small business. An individual who has a job, earns income, and who is a member of a household with an annual household income of less than 200% of federal income poverty guidelines is eligible for an IDA account. For more details and resources, see the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority’s webpage on IDAs. 

• An ABLE account is a special savings account that allows individuals with disabilities to save up to $15,000 per year while still keeping their Medicaid and other benefits. Eligible individuals who are working may be able to keep more of the money they earn by saving to and spending from an ABLE account. See the ABLE fact sheet for more information and resources. Indiana’s ABLE program is known as INvestABLE ( there are now ABLE programs available in many states). Find details about INvestABLE fees, investment options, and benefits at https://savewithable.com/in/home.html 

• A Special Needs Trust is a trust that allows people with disabilities to save assets. There are different types of Special Needs Trusts. Some are funded through an inheritance, back payment from Social Security, or money from a personal injury settlement. Other trusts can be funded by workers with disabilities themselves, with their own earnings. Special Needs Trusts are often set up by an attorney, but for Hoosiers, the Arc of Indiana also has a Master Trust I and II. Just as with ABLE accounts, Special Needs Trusts can allow people with disabilities to maintain their eligibility for government benefits. For more information about minimum deposits, how funds can be used, and the difference between trusts, see the Arc Master Trust guide or consult an attorney. 

We Knew You Would Ask

There has been some question as to whether a person should choose an ABLE account or a Special Needs Trust. People with disabilities who are eligible may be able to have both! Some advisors recommend that ABLE accounts, many of which have a debit card option, be used for smaller savings amounts and for routine spending, and that Special Needs Trusts be used for longer-term savings. 

If you are working with families or individuals, help them ask questions when they’re comparing and contrasting savings and investment options. 

And While We're on the Subject

April is Financial Capability Month (who knew?). The National Disability Institute, the LEAD Center, and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) are joining forces to present a webinar, "Advancing Financial Literacy for Individuals with Disabilities." Per NDI's website, participants will learn about:

• Consumer protections provided by MSRB rules for ABLE tax-advantaged savings accounts 
• New materials from the FDIC to build financial capability for adults with disabilities 
• Favorable tax benefits for people with disabilities from the IRS 
• Financial literacy requirements in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) from the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) 
• Challenges and opportunities to improve financial capability and inclusion for individuals across the spectrum of disabilities from disability leaders

The details:
Advancing Financial Literacy for Individuals with Disabilities

April 18
1-3 p.m., Eastern Time
For more information and to register: https://www.realeconomicimpact.org/news/?id=1665