I have been on Social Security disability since 2009. I tried to work a job in 2013 and it lasted about a month. It was only $400 a month and they hassled me so much! I was told I could make $810 a month that year. I didn't understand. Things are getting rough around here. I thought maybe I could try to start my own business. I Maybe to work slowly and alone but just can't be dependable to show up consistently for a part-time job because my physical and mental health. I tried looking at starting my own business and an LLC and it looks like they would actually stop my Social Security disability security because, paraphrase, "if you're able to run your own business, then you're able to work"! How can they do that? This business would never pick over 800 bucks a month. My daughter would have to help me with bookkeeping. I would have to work in short spurts, but I could make a little money. A friend of mine actually died because Social Security stopped her benefit because she made $400 a month! Her lights were turned off and she tripped and fell and hit her head and died. How can this be?! I don't want to be on disability, but That was the determination. I could never be dependable working for someone else so I thought I could have my own business. Is this even worth trying? I have a friend who is a quadriplegic and only makes about 500 bucks off his own business but he told me they hassle him so much that he almost died in the process. Am I just stuck like this? I'm 60 years old.

Hi,

Social Security won't stop your disability benefits due to any type of work unless you are performing what they consider to be substantial gainful activity (SGA). The earnings guideline for what is considered as SGA is currently $1170 per month, meaning that you can generally earn up to that amount without losing your disability benefits.

When a person has their own business, however, their monthly earnings do not always reflect the amount of work that they are performing. In some cases, for example, people can work full time in their own business and still not make a profit. Therefore, Social Security looks beyond net earnings when evaluating whether or not a self-employed person is performing SGA. And, if they feel that the reasonable worth of the person's work would be in excess of $1170 per month, they can potentially decide to suspend or terminate the person's disability benefits.

The evaluation guidelines are too complex to summarize here, but you can find them in this section of Social Security's operations manual along with the related links: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0410510010. For an overall summary of working while receiving disability benefits, refer to this Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf.

Best, Jerry