Social Security bill offers blue-collar workers full benefits at 60

A House Democrat wants workers in physically demanding jobs to collect full Social Security retirement benefits at 60, seven years before the current full retirement age.

Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan introduced the Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. The bill would cover occupations such as construction, roofing, nursing and manufacturing. It would have the Social Security Administration set the list of qualifying jobs and update it every three years.

"Michiganders who work with their hands shouldn't be forced to wait until their bodies give out to retire," Stevens said in a statement. "If we want to honor the dignity of work in this country, we need to lower the retirement age for physical laborers."

Workers born in 1960 or later reach full retirement age at 67. They can claim as early as 62 at a permanently reduced rate, and each year of delay past 67, up to 70, raises the monthly check 8%.

How the Social Security points system would work

A full career in manual labor wouldn't be required. The bill credits 0.5 point for each year in a qualifying job from ages 18 to 34, one point a year from 35 to 44, 1.5 points a year from 45 to 54 and two points a year from 55 onward. Full benefits at 60 would require 15 points or 20 years of physically demanding work. The weighting favors later-career work: someone who starts in a trade at 18 would reach 15 points in their early 40s, while someone who takes up physical work at 45 would need about 10 years.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies jobs as physically demanding when they require sustained exertion such as climbing, heavy lifting, standing or walking. By its count, 39.1% of the civilian workforce holds such jobs.

Stevens, who is also running for US Senate in Michigan, pitched the bill as relief for workers who can't physically last until 67. A 2022 study from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School found that people in physically demanding occupations are at risk of leaving work earlier than planned, which can weaken their retirement security.

Social Security trust fund depletion looms

The Social Security trustees' 2026 annual report projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032. After that, incoming revenue would cover 78% of scheduled benefits.

Congress can avert automatic cuts by raising taxes, cutting benefits or doing some of each, and proposals to raise the full retirement age, the opposite of Stevens' approach, have long been part of that debate. Rep. John Larson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both Connecticut Democrats, recently reintroduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which would lift the payroll tax cap, set at $184,500 for 2026, and tax investment income for people earning more than $400,000. With Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, GovTrack puts its chances of passage at 0%. It is unclear how Stevens' lower retirement age would be funded or whether her bill will advance.

What a lower retirement age would mean for client plans

Until Congress acts, 67 remains the planning assumption for clients born in 1960 or later.

Advisors stress-testing retirement plans against a benefit haircut have little reason to model a claiming age that exists only in a bill. The proposal does point to clients worth a second look: owners of construction, roofing and manufacturing firms who spent years on job sites, nurses and other clinical staff, and the spouses of people in those occupations.

For these households the bigger risk is a career cut short by injury or physical wear. That leaves years to cover with portfolio withdrawals or guaranteed income before benefits begin, and it is one reason planners diversify retirement income streams beyond Social Security.

In Schroders' 2026 U.S. Retirement Survey, 45% of respondents said they expect to claim before full retirement age.

If the bill moves, the first question for planners is whether delayed retirement credits would still accrue for workers who wait past 60.