Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
The Social Security blackout period refers to which of the following?
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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 benefits: a surviving spouse caring for children under age 16 receives survivor income benefits, but once the youngest child ages out of eligibility, those benefits stop. The survivor then receives nothing until age 60, when reduced survivor benefits become available, or until the survivor's own retirement benefits begin. Financial planners must design life insurance coverage to fill this gap, which is a central reason survivors need permanent protection.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The five-month waiting period is the Social Security disability waiting period, a different concept from the survivor blackout.
- C) The 24-month Medicare waiting period applies to SSDI recipients, not to the survivor blackout period.
- D) Benefits are not suspended after full retirement age; the blackout occurs before age 60.
Memory hook
Blackout: survivor checks stop when the last child turns 16 and restart at 60. Life insurance fills the dark years.