Have you ever talked to social services or any organization about the amount of money you can earn and still keep your SSI?  The best way to face your fears is with information.  You can work from home if you have some computer skills, and that way, a small amount of additional income will go a lot further if you don’t have to worry about transportation and special clothing for the work environment.   I have two friends who receive this kind of help and one of them, with a back injury from a fall at work, now helps people who are housebound, with small handyman jobs around the house.  My other friend takes people their groceries and does small errands for those who don’t have the ability to do for themselves any more.  These jobs are giving back something to the community, and they don’t pay enough to stop your benefits from coming in.  Even retired people on Social Security can earn up to $12,000 a year, I have been told.  The best thing to do is to find out from someone in authority who knows the limits a person can earn and still collect benefits.  Once you know, the fear will have no place in your life.  At this link on the Social Security Web Site it states that you can earn $900 a month and keep your benefits.  If you earn more then that, you can still work for nine months before they would suspend your benefits, and if you had to stop working, your benefits would start again.  Check out this link: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/government-affairs-and-advocacy/government-programs/soc.  Call your own branch of Social Security, and ask some questions.