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Recommendation: Increased PASS Possibilities for your Spouse

Your spouse currently has a PASS. It permits your spouse's benefit amount to increase to at least partially compensate your spouse for the money your spouse is spending or setting aside for training, equipment, transportation, or other expenses which help your spouse move toward an occupational goal that will make your spouse more self-supporting.

You can increase your spouse's expenditures or set-aside amount if doing so would further help your spouse move toward that goal. To increase the benefit amount your spouse would have to amend the PASS to include your spouse's increased expenses or set-asides.

NOTE: Your spouse’s PASS amount can not be greater than the income that the two of you have available. Your available income does not include your SSI Cash Benefit, but does include earnings, other unearned income, and in-kind support (if that support is figured using the Presumed Maximum Value (PMV) rule). It does not include income already designated as an IRWE to increase benefits or as a Blind Work Expense (BWE).

NOTE: Your spouse’s PASS must end when your spouse achieves his or her occupational goal.

"WHAT-IF?" STEPS

1.           Create a New Situation.

2.           Choose the column containing the recommendation as the column on which to base the new situation. (The new column will contain the same answers as the chosen column until you make changes.)

3.           Go to the top of the new column and enter a situation label such as "Increased spouse's PASS" if you wish.

4.           Scroll down to the Work Expenses or Employability Investment section and enter the amount(s) your spouse would like to spend or save to become more self-supporting. Refer to "Text Results" recommendation for the highest total amount of work expenses and employability investments which your spouse can at least partially recover in this situation.

ALSO NOTE: You may enter an amount higher than the amount recommended – if that is what you want and are able to spend or save – but the extra amount cannot be recovered through your SSI benefit. (The recommended amount raises your SSI check to the maximum for your situation.) If, however, you have other benefits such as housing subsidies or food stamps, then including the full amount may cause those benefits to be higher. Check with the applicable agencies.

5.           Then scroll down to the Work Incentive Information section and enter the total as a PASS for your spouse.

6.           Check the results.

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