Well, if Ben is a person, and he is deceased, then I would say he is past tense.
However, if you are talking about language, you might be referring to the word "been," which actually could be past, present, or future perfect progressive tense along with had or have.
Examples:
I have been reading (present perfect progressive).
She had been reading (past perfect progressive).
By that time, we will have been reading for a week (future perfect progressive).
Ben is not a verb and does not have a past tense.
"Ben was a cashier" is that sentence in the past tense.
the past tense of am is was and the past tense of has is had
The past tense of "has" is "had" and the past tense of "have" is "had."
Was and were are both the past tense of be. The present tense is: I am he is you are they are The past tense is: I was he was you were they were
"will be" is the future tense of "be". The past tense of "be" is "was/were".
The past tense is she did.
The word "were" is past tense. It is the past tense of the verb "to be."
The past tense of "will" is "would". The past tense of "to be" is "was" or "were".
HAD is the Past Tense of TO HAVE.
The past tense is had.
The past tense of "am" is "was" and the past perfect tense of "has" is "had."