Disability Income✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
In the Social Security survivors benefit program, the blackout period refers to:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
The blackout period is the gap in survivor income for a widowed spouse: survivor benefits that were being paid to care for children typically stop when the youngest child reaches 16, and they do not resume for the widow or widower until age 60, or age 50 if disabled. During the blackout period no survivor income is received, which is why life insurance planning often fills this coverage gap. The blackout period is a classic Social Security survivors-benefit concept that agents should understand when analyzing survivor income needs.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The five-month waiting period applies to Social Security disability benefits, not to the survivors blackout period.
- C) The 24-month Medicare waiting period follows disability benefit entitlement and is a Medicare eligibility rule, not the blackout period.
- D) Credits continue to accrue on covered wages during any period of employment; the blackout period is a survivors-benefit gap.
Memory hook
Blackout = widowed spouse's survivor checks go dark from child-age-16 until age 60. Fill the gap with life insurance.