Webster defines a “pass” as a “license or permit;” or, “the transfer of a (football) from one player to another,” or, “to go by or go past,” and so on. However, if you have a disability, a “PASS,” or Plan for Achieving Self-Support can also mean a “plan for your future.”

PASS has been a part of the Social Security Act since 1974. PASS is one of SSA’s rules called “work incentives” that can make going to work easier for Social Security beneficiaries or Supplemental Security Income recipients.

For someone receiving Social Security disability benefits who has a goal of being employed, a PASS can entitle or raise that disabled individual’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment. For someone receiving only SSI but working, or with more than $2,000 in resources, a PASS can help the SSI recipient keep more SSI.

What is needed for a PASS is a commitment to reduce dependence on Social Security benefit payments through working. If you don’t know the kind of job to pursue, PASS can even help with the cost of a vocational evaluation.

Therefore, if you have a disability, or receive Social Security disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and you wish to try working, please give us a call. The St Paul PASS Cadre is at 651-290-0304 or toll-free from anywhere in Minnesota and Wisconsin, 1-800-551-9796. We also give PASS seminars and presentations to groups and organizations at no cost. Let us know if you have an audience with an interest in PASS.

Remember that, on the road to joining the workforce, it is always ‘O.K. to PASS’.