Module #7

Supporting Asset Development and Accumulation

This toolkit will help you understand and explain two key Supplemental Security Income (SSI) policies that allow youth to save money to support a range of goals related to future employment and independence.  Our focus will be on two saving and asset accumulation options: SSI’s Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS); and the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account. 

1. An SSI beneficiary cannot have more than $2,000 in countable resources.
True | False
2. An approved Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS) will allow the beneficiary to set aside and exclude up to $750/mo in Social Security disability payments if that money will be used to meet expenses related to a vocational goal.
True | False
3. A transition-aged youth receiving Social Security and SSI disability payments can set aside their full Social Security payment (less the $20 general income disregard) in an approved PASS and qualify for a full $771 SSI payment in 2019 (plus a State Supplement Payment, if any).
True | False
4. An ABLE account is only available if the individual’s state of residence has established an ABLE program.
True | False
5. If a parent or other third party pays for an SSI beneficiary’s monthly rent, the SSI payment can be reduced by up to $257 per month in 2019.
True | False
6. Up to $30,000 of assets held in an ABLE account is considered by the SSI program to be an exempt resource.
True | False