How do Difficulty oF Care Payments affect my early retirement? I took early retirement  in May at 62.  I am in Michigan and I just started getting paid to take care of my special needs adult son who resides in my home in July.   I  am alloted 72 hours per month, for a total of $1152 - around $13K per year. The state of Michigan issues W-2's, no FICA is withheld, and my son is listed as the employer.  I know that this isn't technically self employment, but I did read somewhere that you cannot go over 45 hours per month working.  I also do a very small side business that I work about 5 hours per week at, only $2000-$3000 per year.  Do I have anything to be concerned about with this set up?

@Luca Romano I have called them - twice. They only thing they said was to report the wages if they are over $1950 per month. When I tried to explain that I was being paid under a medicaid waiver/difficulty of care they had no clue what I meant. The 45 hour per month limit I am refering to - is for Self Employment and substantial services. I will not be reporting this as self employment income, since they are issuing a W-2, but I am concerned that somehow they could say I am techincally self employed, since my son is listed as the employer.

@Troy and Beth Howard I completely understand your frustration with getting unclear guidance from SSA! You re right to'be concerned about the technicalities here. The fact that your son is listed as the employer on the "W-2" does create some confusion, but this is actually a common setup for Difficulty of Care payments through state Medicaid waiver programs. A few thoughts that might help: 1. Consider asking to speak with a supervisor or someone in the disability/waiver programs division when you call SSA - the general representatives may not be familiar with these specialized payment arrangements. 2. You might also try visiting your local SSA office in person with documentation of your Medicaid waiver program to get clearer guidance. 3. Since Michigan issues the W-2 without FICA withholding, this suggests they re treating it'as excluded income for Social Security purposes, which supports your position. 4. The 45-hour self-employment rule you mentioned typically applies to business ownership scenarios, not caregiver arrangements like yours where you re providing care'in your home. Have you considered reaching out to a disability advocate or elder law attorney who specializes in Medicaid waiver programs? They might be able to provide clarity on how these payments should be reported to SSA. Sometimes having professional documentation of the payment structure can help when dealing with SSA representatives.