Will selling property affect my survivor benefits at 64 - income limits based on my age or my late husband's?

I went through something similar last year with mY late wife's benefits. The earnings test is based on YOUR age, not your deceased spouse's age. Since your 64 and below YOUR full retirement age, you'll be subject to the earnings limit ($22,320 for 2025). But heres where it gets complicated - capital gains from property sales are NOT counted as 'earnings' for SS purposes! Only earned income (like wages from a job) counts toward the limit. So you should be fine to sell without any impact on your survivor benefits.

The previous commenter is correct. For Social Security purposes, only earned income (wages from employment or net earnings from self-employment) counts toward the retirement earnings test. Capital gains from selling property are unearned income, so they don't count against your earnings limit. However, one important note: if you were regularly in the business of buying and selling real estate, the IRS might consider you a 'dealer' rather than an 'investor,' and in that case, the income could potentially be classified as self-employment income. Based on what you've described, this sounds like a one-time sale of personal property, which would be capital gains and not affect your benefits.

My mom had to deal with this when she sold her house after my dad died. The social security office told her not to worry about it cuz its not earned income. So youll be fine.

I thought ANY income counted against the earnings limit! I've been avoiding selling stocks for years because I was afraid it would affect my benefits. Now I feel stupid for waiting so long. The SSA really should make this clearer on their website. Is there anything official that says this? I don't want to risk it without being 100% sure.

While everyone is correct that capital gains don't count toward the earnings test, I want to make sure you understand that the earnings test for survivor benefits is based on YOUR age, not your deceased spouse's age. Since you're 64, you're subject to the annual earnings limit ($22,320 in 2025), and if you earn more than that from a job, your benefits would be reduced by $1 for every $2 over the limit. Also, be aware that when you reach your own full retirement age, you'll have a decision to make: continue with the survivor benefit or switch to your own retirement benefit if it would be higher. Have you checked what your own retirement benefit would be at your FRA?

Has anyone here tried calling the SSA to get clarity on something like this? I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to someone at Social Security last month just to ask about my widow benefits. Kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting for hours!!!

I STILL dont trust what the SSA says about anything!!! My neighbor got hit with an 'overpayment' notice because they claimed he earned too much while getting SS, but it was from selling his boat, NOT from working!!! He had to fight for MONTHS to get it straightened out. The SSA computers dont know the difference sometimes and then YOUR stuck with the mess!!! Be careful!!!

Good news about the property sale! Just remember that even though it won't affect your SS benefits, you'll still have to pay capital gains tax on the sale. Hope you've owned it for more than a year so you get the lower tax rate!

I'm new to this community and dealing with a similar situation. My husband passed away last year and I'm just starting to understand all the rules around survivor benefits. Reading through these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that capital gains didn't count toward the earnings limit! I've been so worried about potentially losing benefits that I've been afraid to make any financial moves. It's reassuring to see experienced community members sharing their knowledge and helping each other navigate these complex rules. Thank you all for taking the time to explain these details so clearly.