New Social Security bill would lower retirement age to 60 for some workers

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., on Wednesday introduced a new bill that would lower Social Security’s full retirement age for workers in physically demanding jobs.

Currently, the earliest Social Security retirement age is 62, though beneficiaries receive reduced monthly checks for starting that soon. By waiting until full retirement age — that’s 67 for individuals born in 1960 or later — they may receive 100% of the benefits they’ve earned.

Yet for blue-collar workers, staying longer in physically demanding jobs in order to reach those age milestones may be difficult, according to Stevens’ proposal.

Individuals who have physically demanding jobs are at risk of exiting the workforce earlier than planned, which can interfere with their ability to have a secure retirement, according to 2022 research from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School.