Subject to the rules of administrative finality, start a PASS with the earliest month
in which the individual was entitled to SSI and was incurring expenses or setting
aside money for future expenses related to the work goal. Exclude previously counted
income that the individual used or set aside (in a manner that clearly identifies
its purpose) for allowable PASS expenses.
If the individual was working towards the goal and paying or saving for future PASS
expenses, then the PASS Cadre will consider retroactivity for a PASS applicant with
an outstanding overpayment. In this instance, approving the PASS retroactively reduces
the amount of the outstanding overpayment.
EXAMPLE: In January 2020, Chue applied and was accepted to a vocational program for the fall
term beginning in September 2020. Chue needed to pay a tuition fee of $2500 by September
2020 to attend the program. In February, Chue began saving a portion of their wages
each month into a separate bank account to use for educational expenses. Chue continued
to save the income through September 2020. Chue did not report their wages timely,
resulting in an overpayment in March 2020, June 2020 and August 2020. When they meet
with a Claims Specialist in July 2020 to discuss the overpayment, the Claims Specialist
refers them to the PASS Cadre to submit a PASS application. The PASS Cadre approves
the plan and the tuition for the vocational program. The PASS Specialist reviews the
savings and pay stubs and determines that the income that caused the overpayment had
been set aside for approved PASS expenses. The PASS Specialist applies a retroactive
PASS exclusion beginning in February 2020, the month Chue began saving their wages,
and the overpayment is reduced. Additionally, the PASS Specialist excludes the amount
in the bank account that had been set aside for tuition.
If the applicant has an outstanding SSI overpayment, a PASS exclusion applied retroactively
will net any resulting underpayment against the outstanding overpayment. When the
prior overpayment is unrelated to the PASS, a PASS exclusion would not result in a
payment that the applicant could use toward approved PASS expenses.
EXAMPLE: Using the example from above, Chue has been saving their wages to cover the cost
of their tuition fees and has been reporting their wages timely. However, they have
an overpayment on their record from when they were working in 2019, before they began
saving for their vocational training. A PASS exclusion applied beginning February
2020 would cause an underpayment which would net against the existing overpayment.
Since the prior overpayment is unrelated to the PASS, the PASS Specialist determines
that even though Chue had been saving for their approved PASS expenses since February
2020, any resulting underpayment would not be available to pay for the approved tuition
expense. The PASS Specialist, therefore, cannot approve the retroactive exclusion
of wages.
If the PASS applicant receives Title II benefits only and has no Title XVI entitlement
prior to PASS, the date the Cadre receives the SSA-545-BK will be the protective filing
date for the Title XVI benefit. In this situation, the plan will begin the month after
the month of SSI eligibility. To establish the lead for the Title XVI application,
follow instructions in SI 00870.020.