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PASS - Spouse

A Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) lets your spouse spend or save income (other than SSI income) and/or resources for employability investments and work expenses that SSA agrees will help your spouse become financially more self-supporting.

NOTE: Any income included in a PASS must come from earned or unearned income sources (including in-kind support and/or deemed income) other than SSI. The amount of income you may include in a PASS can not exceed your non-SSI income.

ALSO NOTE: You may not be able to include in your spouse's PASS disability-related work expenses that are already included in an IRWE. Check with your SSA Claims Representative. If you do include those expenses in the PASS, you must first remove them from your spouse's IRWE. Work Expenses can not be included in both a PASS and an IRWE.

If your spouse is a SSI recipient, a PASS can permit your spouse to recover up to 100% of the income your spouse spends or sets aside by increasing the SSI check, up to its maximum. Exactly how much the SSI benefit will be raised depends on your spouse's living situation, earned and unearned income, and the amount of the PASS. Use WorkWORLD to see how much the SSI benefit might increase in your spouse's specific situation.

If you and/or spouse is a SSDI (Title II) beneficiary whose benefit makes your spouse ineligible for SSI, then your spouse may be able to become eligible for SSI by using some of your spouse’s SSDI cash benefit to pursue an occupational goal and by including that amount in a PASS. Read the topic "PASS as an SSDI (Title II) Work Incentive" for further information if you receive SSDI.

In a PASS, your spouse can include funds for training, education, work-related equipment, transportation, and new work expenses, if any.

Your spouse must have what SSA agrees is a feasible occupational goal, a viable plan; and your spouse must be able to clearly account for the funds which are to be set aside. Your spouse must then follow the plan and negotiate revisions as needed.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Your spouse's PASS must end when your spouse's occupational goal is reached.

Additional Information:

The PASS Application Form is available at the Social Security Administration Forms topic.

See Also:

PASS Cadre

SSI Work Incentives

Work Incentives Overview

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