The impairment-related work expense (IRWE) provision allows for the exclusion of earned income used to pay for work expenses incurred because of the person's disability. (See SI 00820.540 for more information on IRWE.)

The blind work expense (BWE) provision allows an individual who is blind to exclude earnings used to pay for work related expenses. To qualify as a BWE, a work expense does not have to be incurred because of the recipient's blindness. (See SI 00820.535 for more information on BWE.)

Unlike PASS, neither IRWE nor BWE may be used to reduce countable unearned income or resources.

Countable income cannot qualify for a PASS exclusion and IRWE or BWE provision simultaneously. An expense excluded under a PASS for countable income purposes may also be excludable as an IRWE for a substantial gainful activity (SGA) determination since these are separate determinations.

When countable income can qualify for both PASS and IRWE or BWE, use the exclusion most advantageous to the individual.

The PESS provision provides for the total or partial exclusion of property needed for self-support under certain conditions. The main distinctions between PESS and PASS are that PASS exclusions:

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  not only can cover resources, but income as well;

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  apply to those who receive SSI based on blindness or disability, but not to those whose initial claims were approved for SSI based on the claimants being over age 65 (See SI 00870.006E2);

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  have a time limit; and

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  do not have an inherent dollar limit.

(See SI 01130.500 for more information on PESS.)

Earned income set aside under a PASS is deducted from gross earnings when performing a 1619(a) payment computation or an individualized 1619(b) threshold calculation. 1619(a) allows for continued Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments when an recipient's gross earnings are at or above the SGA level. 1619(b) allows for continued rights to Medicaid eligibility and payment reinstatement when a recipient's earnings cause ineligibility for regular SSI cash payments but are lower than a state-specific threshold. (For more information about section 1619, see SI 02302.010.)

SGA provisions do not affect or limit the applicability of the PASS exclusions in any way. The PASS income exclusion is not applied when determining monthly earnings for SGA purposes.

The SEIE applies to SSI recipients under age 22 who are working and regularly attending school. The SEIE allows technicians to exclude up to a certain limit of gross wages per month, up to a maximum cumulative limit per calendar year. Any earned income for the student – over the monthly and/or annual SEIE limits – could be excludable under a PASS. While SEIE excludes only earned income, an SSI recipient could have unearned income excluded under a PASS. (For more information about SEIE, see SI 00820.510.)

An ABLE account allows SSI recipients and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries to save money in a tax-advantaged savings account, which can pay for qualified disability expenses (QDEs), including those associated with education and work. The account holder must be blind or disabled with a condition that began before their 26th birthday.

NOTE: Effective 1/1/2026, eligibility for an ABLE account includes individuals whose disability began before age 46.

Up to and including $100,000 of the balance of funds in an ABLE account is excludable as a resource for SSI purposes. Total annual contributions to an account are capped by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Gift Tax Exclusion Amount, except that an employed beneficiary may make additional annual contributions up to:

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  the lesser of the poverty level for a one-person household; or

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  the amount of the beneficiary's compensation for the tax year,

if certain conditions are met, as described in SI 01130.740C.

The fact that an individual uses their own income to contribute to their ABLE account does not mean that their income is not countable for SSI purposes as it normally would be. However, such income could be eligible for a PASS exclusion upon an approved plan. In addition, PASS allows for funding toward expenditures for education, employment training, and employment support, as these are examples of costs related to achieving a work goal. Disbursements from an ABLE account toward these same types of expenses would not impact an applicant's or recipient's SSI eligibility, since these costs are considered QDEs. (For more information about ABLE, see SI 01130.740.)

Eligibility for Section 301 payments applies if:

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  the individual is participating in a PASS that was approved before the date of disability or blindness cessation, and

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  participation will continue beyond the two grace months after disability or blindness cessation, and

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  we have determined that the individual’s completion of the plan, or continuation in the plan for a specified period of time, will increase the likelihood that they will not return to the disability or blindness benefit rolls.

See DI 14505.010A.

For the purpose of Section 301 benefits, the individual is determined to be participating in a program if they are taking part in the activities and services outlined in the plan. See DI 14505.010C.

For continued eligibility for Section 301 benefits, we consider that an individual is participating in a program even during temporary interruptions or suspensions of the plan. For an interruption or suspension to be considered temporary, the individual must resume taking part in the activities and services outlined in their plan no more than three full calendar months after the last day of the month the interruption or suspension occurred. See DI 14505.010D.

SGA, the Trial Work Period (TWP), and Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) do not apply to individuals who receive Title II Section 301 payments. For Title XVI cases, SSI income and eligibility provisions continue to apply, i.e., income counting, resource limits, IRWE, BWE, and the SEIE.

While the individual is receiving Section 301 payments, an existing PASS can be amended, yet a new PASS cannot be approved, since it has been determined that the individual is no longer disabled or blind. See SI 00870.010C3 for instructions on advising ODO of a change in an individual’s PASS.

Section 301 payments will be terminated effective with the month after the earliest of the following:

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  The month the individual completes the plan; or

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  The month the individual stops participating in the plan for any reason; or

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  The month ODO determines that the individual’s continued participation in the plan will no longer increase the likelihood that they will remain off the rolls.

The field office (FO) will identify cases with participation in a program of VR, employment, or other support services (including a PASS) when conducting a medical continuing disability review (CDR) or age-18 redetermination personal contact. The FO will record information about the program on the form SSA-454-BKor SSA-3368-BK as appropriate (DI 14510.003A1).

SSA-454-BK

SSA-3368-BK

The FO completes Part I, Section A of the SSA-4290-F5 (Development of Participation in a Vocational Rehabilitation or Similar Program) with information about the individual and the program after a determination of medical cessation by Disability Determination Services (DDS) (DI 14510.003C and DI 14515.020).

SSA-4290-F5

The file must contain a copy of the approved PASS application (SSA-545-BK), any supplemental forms including amendments, and the PASS approval notice before the file is forwarded to DDS. The FO will ask the PASS specialist to provide a copy of this material (via fax) if it is not already in the file. The FO may use the following website to identify the servicing PASS Cadre: Location of PASS Cadre.

SSA-545-BK

It is important that the PASS specialist enter a Supplemental Security Record (SSR) Special Message to identify approved PASS cases and the servicing PASS Cadre. Enter the following information on the SSR Special Message for every approved PASS case:

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  PASS approval date (mm/dd/yy),

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  PASS specialist’s phone number (including extension).

Be sure to update the SSR Special Message if the PASS is suspended, resumed, or terminated by overlaying the approval date with the appropriate information and date. For example: “PASS term 12/05/05, 800-555-4567 x 123.”

The PASS specialist should also keep the Customer Information System (CIS) updated so it can be used to obtain current status on individual PASS participants.

Refer to DI 14510.015 for instructions on Office of Disability Operations (ODO) Procedures for Determining Participation in Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) or Similar Program

If ODO allows Section 301 payments, the case will be documented in one of several ways:

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  Remarks on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) or SSR such as “Section 301 payment case” or “Section 301 case”,

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  A “Y” in the 301 indicator of the Disability Determination Services Query (DDSQ) (see SM 06002.200), and/or

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  A Disability Control File (DCF) event indicating “301 case” on the CDR Query (QCDR) or Electronic Continuing Disability Review (ECDR) screen (for a Title II case only).

Section 301 payments terminate if the individual completes the PASS, the individual stops participating in the PASS, or ODO determines that the individual’s continued participation in the plan will no longer increase the likelihood that they will remain off the rolls. Therefore, the PASS specialist should advise ODO by fax immediately if:

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  the PASS work goal has been changed, or

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  the PASS end date has been changed, or

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  the individual begins working at the SGA level (see DI 14510.030), or

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  the individual stops participating in their plan, or

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  the individual completes their plan.

Use the Detailed Office/Organization Resource System (DOORS) to obtain the fax number of the module with jurisdiction of the case. Send the fax to the attention of “Disability Examiner” and annotate it, “Section 301 Case.”