Working While 

Disabled—A Guide to 

Plan to Achieve SelfSupport

SSA.gov
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What is a plan to achieve 

self-support (PASS)?

A PASS is a plan for your future that 

allows you to use your income or other 

things you own to help you reach your 

work goals. For example, you could 

set aside money to go to school to get 

specialized training for a job or to start 

a business. The job you want should 

allow you to earn enough to reduce or 

eliminate your need for benefits provided 

under both the Social Security Disability 

Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental 

Security Income (SSI) programs. A plan 

helps you get the items, services, or 

skills you need to reach your goals. 

You can have a PASS if:

• You want to work.

• You get SSI (or can qualify for SSI by 

having this plan) because you have a 

disability or are blind.

• You have other income or resources 

to use to get a job or start a busines.

A PASS can help you keep or 

get SSI or could mean a higher 

payment

Under SSI rules, any income that you 

have may reduce your SSI payment. 

But, if you have an approved plan, you 

can use that income to pay for the items 

you need to reach your work goal.
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We don’t count money set aside under 

the PASS when we decide your SSI 

payment amount. This means you may 

get a higher SSI payment. However, you 

can’t get more than the maximum SSI 

payment for the state where you live.

In addition, your resources (money 

or the things you own) can’t be worth 

more than $2,000 for an individual or 

$3,000 for a couple. However, if you 

have an approved plan, you can use 

your resources to pay for the items or 

services you need to reach your work 

goals. Resources you set aside for a 

plan don’t count against the $2,000 for 

an individual or $3,000 for a couple limit. 

This could help you qualify for SSI.

A PASS can help you set aside 

money for most work expenses

With an approved plan, you can set 

aside money to pay expenses to reach 

your work goal. For example, the money 

you save can be used for:

• Transportation to and from work.

• Tuition, books, fees, and supplies 

needed for school or training.

• Childcare.

• Attendant care.

• Employment services, such as job 

coaching and resume writing.

• Assistive technology used for 

employment-related purposes.

• Supplies to start a business.
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• Equipment and tools to do the job.

• Uniforms, special clothing, and 

safety equipment.

How to set up a PASS

The plan must be in writing and we 

must approve it. To start, download the 

application by visiting www.ssa.gov/

forms/ssa-545.pdf or contact your local 

Social Security office for an application 

(Form SSA-545-BK). Then, follow the 

steps below to set up your plan:

1. Decide what your work goal is. Your 

goal should be to get a job that 

you’re interested in doing and that 

you think you’ll be able to do when 

you complete your plan. If you want, 

we can refer you to a vocational 

rehabilitation counselor who can help 

you figure out your work goal. Other 

third parties can help you, too. You 

can also set up a plan to cover the 

costs of vocational services, including 

testing and business planning.

2. Find out all the steps you need to take 

to reach your goal and how long it will 

take you to complete each step.

3. Decide what items or services you’ll 

need to reach your goal. Your plan 

must show how an item or service 

will help you reach your goal. For 

example, if you want to work in a 

restaurant, you may need training to 

learn to cook. If you want to become a 

computer programmer, you may need 

a college degree. If you want to start 
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your own business, you may need to 

buy equipment.

4. Get several cost estimates for the 

items and services you need. We’ll 

approve items and services that are 

necessary to achieve your work goal 

and are reasonably priced. Find out 

how much money you’ll have to set 

aside each month to pay for these 

items and services. If you’re setting 

aside income for your plan, your 

SSI payment usually will increase to 

help you meet your living expenses. 

We can estimate what your new SSI 

amount will be if we approve 

your plan.

5. Tell us how you’ll keep your plan’s 

funds separate from any other money 

you have. The easiest way to do this 

is to open a separate bank account 

for the money you save under 

your plan.

6. Complete ALL the questions on the 

Form SSA-545-BK, sign it, and date it. 

Make sure that your correct address 

and phone number are on the form.

7. Submit your completed form to your 

local Social Security office. 

If you need help writing your plan, your 

local Social Security office can either 

help you or refer you to a PASS expert 

(PASS Specialist) or a local organization 

that will help you. 
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If Your Work Goal is to be 

Self Employed

Include a detailed business plan with 

your application if you want to start 

your own business. Your business plan 

should explain:

• What type of business you want to 

start (for example, a restaurant, a 

print shop).

• Where you will set up your 

business (for example, rent a store, 

share space).

• Your hours of operation.

• Who your customers, suppliers and 

competitors will be.

• How you will advertise your product 

or service.

• What items and services you’ll need 

to start the business.

• What these items and services 

will cost.

• How you are going to pay for these 

items and services.

• Your expected earnings for the first 

four years of the business.

NOTE: We encourage you to talk to 

someone who can help you write your 

business plan. This could be someone 

from the Small Business Administration, 

Service Corps of Retired Executives, a 

vocational counselor, a local banker, or 

anyone else familiar with helping people 

start a business. You can include any 

costs for this help in your plan.
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We must evaluate your PASS

After you submit your application, a 

PASS Specialist will:

• Review the plan to make sure 

it is complete.

• Decide if your plan will give you a 

good chance of reaching your goal.

• Decide if the expenses listed are 

necessary to reach your goal and if 

they’re reasonably priced.

• Decide if any changes are needed 

and discuss those changes with you.

• Send you a letter to tell you if the plan 

is approved or denied.

If we approve your plan, the PASS 

Specialist will contact you from time to 

time to make sure that you’re following 

your plan to reach your goal. Make sure 

that you keep receipts for the items and 

services you have bought under the plan.

You may appeal if your PASS 

is denied

If we don’t approve your plan, you have 

a right to appeal the decision. The letter 

you receive will explain your appeal 

rights and tell you how to file an appeal. 

You also may submit a new plan to us.

You may change your PASS after 

it is approved

If you later decide to change your plan, 

you may do so. However, you must get 

approval from us before you make any 
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changes. Tell us in writing what changes 

you want to make, such as a change in 

the amount of money you set aside each 

month or a change in the expenses you’ll 

have. The PASS Specialist will review 

the changes and let you know if they’re 

approved. Tell us as soon as possible 

about changes that might affect your plan.

Let us know if you can’t 

complete your PASS

Contact your PASS Specialist or the 

Social Security office if you decide that 

you can’t continue with your plan. The 

PASS Specialist may be able to help 

you change your plan so that you can 

still reach your goal. Or, you may write a 

new plan with a new work goal.

If you don’t continue your plan, we’ll 

start counting the income or resources 

that you were setting aside for your 

plan when we figure your SSI payment 

amount. That means that your SSI 

payment probably will go down or stop. 

If you wait too long to tell us that you 

stopped working on your plan, you 

may get too much SSI. Then, you may 

have to pay back the SSI payments you 

received since you stopped working on 

your plan. You may write a new plan with 

a new work goal at any time.
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We have other help available if 

you work while receiving SSI

Other SSI rules may help you while you 

work. They can help you keep more of 

your SSI payment and your Medicaid. 

There also are some special rules for 

students. For more information about our 

work incentive programs, please: 

• Visit our “Choose to Work” website 

at choosework.ssa.gov. From the 

comfort of your home, you can learn 

about our programs or view monthly 

webinars on our programs.

• Read our free publications Working 

While Disabled — How We Can 

Help (Publication No. 05-10095)

and The Red Book (Publication No. 

64-030), a guide to our employment 

support programs. You can find The 

Red Book online at www.ssa.gov/

redbook.

Contacting Social Security

The most convenient way to do business 

with us is to visit www.ssa.gov to get 

information and use our online services. 

There are several things you can do 

online: apply for benefits; get useful 

information; find publications; and get 

answers to frequently asked questions. 

Or, you can call us toll-free at 

1-800-772-1213 or at 1-800-325-0778

(TTY) if you’re deaf or hard of hearing. 

We can answer your call from 8 a.m. 

to 7 p.m., weekdays. You can also use 
our automated services via telephone, 

24 hours a day, so you do not need to 

speak with a representative. We look 

forward to serving you.

Social Security Administration

Publication No. 05-11017

January 2022 (Recycle prior editions) 

Working While Disabled—A Guide to Plan 

to Achieve Self-Support

Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense