Example

Jan’s Story

Jan had been getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid benefits for many years due to depression and an anxiety disorder. About two years ago, she started working with a vocational rehabilitation counselor at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) on her career goal, which was to become a professional chef. Her counselor, Harold, had helped her apply to culinary school and get funding for tuition and school supplies. Now, Jan had less than a year left of school, and she was starting to think about actually starting to work.

Learning about PASS

Jan went to Harold to ask for advice. There were a lot of things she would have to buy in order to get a job, like new clothes for interviews and kitchen uniforms. She made $600 a month at her part-time cashier job, and she got $709.50 in SSI benefits, but after she paid her bills every month, she didn't have very much left over. She knew she would be a good chef after two years of culinary school, but she was nervous about how much it would cost to get started.

Harold told Jan that she should apply for Social Security's Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) program, which would give her extra benefits every month if she saved up money to use for work.

With a PASS plan, Harold explained, Jan could put some of the income from her cashier job into a separate account that Social Security wouldn't count when they were figuring out her SSI benefits. "You'll be making the same amount of money, but SSI will calculate your benefits as if you're making less, so you'll get more in SSI benefits every month," he said. "You can use the money in your PASS account for any expenses related to your work goal of becoming a chef, and the extra SSI will help cover your basic living expenses."

Harold did the math for Jan: The maximum monthly SSI benefit amount was $967 for an individual. Because she made $600 every month, SSI subtracted $257.50 of countable income from that maximum, so she was getting $709.50. But if Jan put that countable income into a PASS account, her countable income would drop to $0, and her SSI benefits would go up to $967.

Also, PASS accounts didn't count towards SSI's resource limit, so even if she saved up more than $2,000, she would continue to get SSI benefits.

"Now you have to write out a plan that shows Social Security how a PASS will help you become a chef," Harold said. "They want to see that your plan is realistic, and that when you complete it, you'll be self-sufficient." Jan would have to figure out all the steps she needed to take to get a job as a chef, how much each step would cost, and how she would pay for it.

Applying to PASS

Jan and Harold opened the PASS application form. Immediately, Jan knew it was going to take a while to complete the application. They were asking for a lot of information. She had to answer questions about her professional goal, her medical history, her work history, and her educational background. She also had to list all the expenses she was going to have that were related to her work goal.

Over three days, Jan carefully filled out her application. She asked Harold for feedback as she went along, and she asked a friend to read over what she had written. Harold also told her to contact a PASS specialist for help.

Jan thought about the steps she needed to take for her PASS. She would graduate culinary school in six months. After that, she would need to apply for jobs, and then interview for the jobs that were interested in hiring her. When she found a job, she could start working.

She listed all the expenses that she would have once she started looking for jobs. She would need new clothes for job interviews, as well as transportation to and from the interviews. She might also need to buy some of her own cooking equipment, like nice knives. When she got a job, she would have to buy uniforms and pay for transportation to and from work. The more expenses that were approved by Social Security, the more money Jan could put into her PASS account every month.

Jan knew Social Security wanted to make sure she would be self-sufficient after her PASS was completed, so she looked up the average salary for a beginner chef. It was $2,120 a month, which meant that if she followed her plan, soon enough she probably wouldn't need SSI benefits at all.

PASS Approved

Jan completed the application and submitted it to her PASS specialist. A few months later, she got a letter in the mail saying that her PASS had been approved.

Jan was thrilled! She reviewed the letter, which included information about the monthly amount she had to set aside for her PASS, her approved expenses, and the date of her first PASS review. She bought a binder to store all her receipts, letters, and bank statements related to her PASS. She also opened a separate checking account for the money that she'd be setting aside to pay for her PASS expenses.

When Jan graduated culinary school a few months later, she already had some money saved up. She knew she was closer than ever to reaching her goal.