I have MS, and have been receiving SSDI for 22 years. I'm 55 years old. My husband has had a small lawn care business (sole proprietorship) for the past 14 years. Throughout this time, I've helped with billing, taxes, and general paperwork. I'm able to do this when I feel up to it, and it's just a few hours here and there without any pay.

Because I’m on disability, I've always kept my name and signature off of most paperwork. I figured that it was just simpler that way, rather than have someone from the SSA notice and say "Hey, it looks like you're running a business! You don't need to be on disability!" I'm sure that I'd be able to straighten it out if I had to (with lots of stress and a ream of paperwork), but I decided to just avoid a potential problem altogether.

My question is whether I should even worry about this. Will the SSA care that my name is on paperwork for the business even though I’m on disability? Would they even find out? (Is Big Brother that smart?) Like I said, I’m just working on it a little bit at a time as I’m able, but I don’t know if the SSA would recognize that distinction..

We’re applying for a small business loan now, and my name is ending up on everything because I’m the one doing the paperwork, and making the contacts. I’m a little paranoid. Should I be?

Personally I would avoid any crossover issues as it might send up a red flag..
Your name is in their system... so it could complicate things at some point..

I believe there is a limit of earnings that you can make per month..without problems...so it might be best to be a part time employee and stay under that limit.

Regardless if your name is on the paperwork you are required to notify SS that you are working pt for your husband's business. To be clear, even if it's only a few hours per month, you have an obligation to notify SS.

"If you work while receiving disability payments
You should tell us if you take a job or become self-employed,
no matter how little you earn. Please let us
know how many hours you expect to work and when
your work starts or stops."

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10153.pdf

This link explains how they evaluate work from self-employment.

http://www.ssa.gov/redbook/eng/defin...ility.htm#a0=3

If the CDIU were ever to investigate you, they would have evidence, via these business loan documents, that you were involved in the business. You could owe back benefits, be fined and you could even potentially look at time in federal prison if they were to allege you have committed fraud. This is serious stuff.

Thanks for the replies! LIT LOVE, I appreciate the links. I guess I'll talk to Social Security.

Jo*mar, I've never gotten paid. He's a sole proprietor, and the income is all his. (Which then becomes ours, but that's different. )

Up until now, my name has not been on paperwork. My help has consisted of me occasionally sitting at the computer, possibly in my pajamas, and entering dates of service onto invoices that only have his business name on them. If I were paid for my time, it would not come anywhere close to the amount that one can earn while on SSDI. So I don't think I'll have a problem. But it sounds like I do need to talk to them.

It would be appropriate to mention you receive special accommodations which allow you to manage working--that you can do it from home, have complete flexibility with your schedule and don't require getting dressed. It's better to be hyper vigilant and not need it, than to be stuck trying to prove you did your part when SS claims there is no record of you notifying them (local field office staff is better trained, but things aren't always recorded properly even there). It's much easier to only have to deal with SS's rules about wages as opposed to their rules test for self employment. It might be something to discuss with your husband. Although it's highly unlikely, SS could subpoena your email, social media correspondence, and computer records if they ever made an allegation of fraud, so be VERY careful to not under report your activities. Another poster on NT just had a nightmare of an experience dealing with private investigators hired by SS.

You should be prepared that work (of any type) will likely trigger a Long Form CDR. It might be early, or you might just stay on the same schedule and first receive a Short Form CDR.

It's important that you are compliant with the treatment your doc/s prescribe as well as taking meds, if any.

You should be aware that even for those receiving SSDI and working for an employer, although the rules state beneficiaries can work below the SGA level ($1090 per month in 2015) and still collect their SSDI benefit, the reality is if they're consistently making even half of the SGA amount, SS will look much more closely at their current medical records to try and determine if their condition has improved enough to cause a cessation of benefits. (I had assumed that earnings had to only be below below $780 per month--the amount for 2015 that triggers a month to be counted as one of the 9 months allowed in a Trial Work Period. A recent POMs update mentioned the trigger of an applicant making over 50% of the SGA.)

if you arent getting paid and are only helping out your husband once in a while with some paperwork, in my opinion you are foolish to be signing anything yourself. let him sign his own paperwork. leave your name out of it.

Thanks for the further info LIT! It's very helpful.

echoes, I still keep my name mostly out of it. What changed now is that all of the loan paperwork has to have both of our names, because they're looking at our credit, assets and liabilities and not just his. (That's the way it works with a sole proprietorship.)

Also, I recently took a class (a couple of hours a night for a few nights) to be able to qualify for a special business loan, because there was no way that my husband's schedule would have allowed him to do it. If my taking that class comes to light, I can explain how that 2 hours a night wiped me out, that I got nothing else accomplished at home that week, and that it took me a week to recover.. So I probably just need to report it and then deal with the fallout.

I still have him sign everything, especially tax related. I have never signed a business tax form of any kind. I am sometimes listed as a contact person in case there's a question. I guess I'll need to explain that too.

Again, I'm not real worried; I've been on disability since 1993, I'm 55 and haven't even had a CDR in about 15 years. But better to deal with it proactively than look like I'm hiding something. Thanks.