Many people in Alabama who are disabled understand the importance of Social Security disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income for meeting their various financial obligations. However, in addition to providing these benefits, the Social Security Administration encourages people to return to work despite their disability. In fact, to motivate such people, the SSA has certain special provisions.
One such program is Plan to Achieve Self-Support, or PASS, as it is more commonly known. According to the PASS provision, a SSI recipient may deduct the expenses that he or she incurred for achieving specific work-related goals at the time of reporting income and other resources to the SSA, for benefits like SSI and SSD benefits. The SSA determines the amount of benefits based in this reduced amount.
In order for an SSI recipient to obtain relief under the SSA’s PASS provision, the first step requires that applicant to determine the trainings, services and items that are necessary for achieving work-related goals. After such determination, the SSA requires the applicant to determine how those trainings, services and items may cost. This is an important step as the SSA carefully scrutinizes the application.
Some examples of such expenses could include supplies necessary for starting a new business, expenses for new tools and equipment and expenses for transportation among others. After finalizing the list, the SSI recipient applying for PASS can also save money for installments and down payments, which may be necessary for work-related matters such as a vehicle, a wheel chair, a computer and so on.
For setting up PASS, an SSI recipient first needs to complete certain formalities that are mentioned on the Social Security website. The next blog post will delve deeper into the process of setting up PASS and what happens after it is set up. However, like other matters related to Social Security, the PASS provision may be confusing for many people. Therefore, it may be a wise decision to consult an attorney.