A worker installs roofing material on a home under construction at the Lilac Ridge community by Lennar Homes on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Vacaville, California, USA.
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Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens introduced a new bill Wednesday that would lower the full Social Security retirement age for workers in physically demanding jobs.
The bill, called the Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act, would allow eligible individuals to claim full Social Security retirement benefits starting at age 60.
Currently, the earliest Social Security retirement age is 62, but beneficiaries receive smaller monthly checks by starting early. By waiting until your full retirement age (age 67 if you were born after 1960), you can collect 100% of the benefits you earned. For every time an individual delays beyond full retirement age until age 70, they can receive an 8% benefit increase.
But Stevens suggests that it may be difficult for blue-collar workers to stay in physically demanding jobs for long enough to reach these age milestones.
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, arrives to address the primary election vigil party in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., early Wednesday morning, August 5, 2026.
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“Michiganders who work with their hands should not have to wait until their bodies are exhausted to retire,” Stevens said in a statement. “If we want to respect the dignity of work in this country, we need to lower the retirement age for manual workers.”
The lower eligibility age applies to workers in occupations such as construction, roofing, nursing care, and manufacturing. Under the bill’s provisions, the Social Security Administration would be tasked with developing a complete list of eligible physically demanding occupations, which would be updated every three years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a physically demanding job as one that requires a certain level and duration of physical exertion, such as climbing, lifting heavy objects, pushing, pulling, standing, or walking. The agency reported that 39.1% of civilian workers have physically demanding jobs.
Under the bill’s terms, workers would no longer have to spend their entire careers in physically demanding jobs to earn credits toward early claims. A weighted points system would award credits to beneficiaries based on the number of years they worked in eligible jobs.
People in physically demanding jobs earn 0.5 points for every year worked between the ages of 18 and 34. 1 point for each year worked from age 35 to age 44. Years of service between the ages of 45 and 54 is 1.5 points. 2 points for the number of years worked before death after age 55.
To qualify for early retirement benefits at age 60, workers must have a total of 15 points or have a total of 20 years of physically demanding work experience during their career.
The proposal comes as Social Security faces an impending depletion of the trust fund it relies on to pay benefits. To prevent across-the-board benefit cuts, lawmakers could choose to strengthen the program by raising taxes, cutting benefits, or a combination of both. Advocates are calling for increased benefits for vulnerable beneficiaries, especially low-income Americans.
A 2022 study from the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis found that people in physically demanding jobs are at risk of leaving their jobs earlier than planned, which can hinder their ability to have a stable retirement.
Admittedly, it remains to be seen whether this proposal will gain support in Congress.
