Question: I’m 64 years old. My husband is 48 years old. We plan on quitting our jobs in March of 2015 and bicycling for two years. I will turn 66 in August 2016. I plan on taking Social Security benefits when I turn 68, but will not have been working the last two years. Does this hurt me? Once I take Social Security when will my husband be eligible for survivor benefits?
Answer: What a cool thing to do. Will not working cost you in terms of Social Security benefits? The answer depends on whether the covered earnings you would otherwise record over the next two years would be among the highest 35 years of covered earnings. If the answer is yes, you are going to have lower benefits than would otherwise be the case. But the biggest issue is more likely to be your deciding to take your retirement benefit at 68 rather than at 70. If you wait until you reach 70, your retirement benefit and the widower’s benefit your husband will be able to collect, if you predecease him, will be 16 percent higher after inflation.
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