WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: In this photo illustration, a Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury on October 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Social Security Administration announced recipients will receive an annual cost of …
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lawmakers are considering a new legislative push that could change the retirement timeline for Americans working in physically demanding jobs.
The "Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act" proposes lowering the eligibility age for Social Security retirement benefits for certain workers.
How Social Security works today
The backstory:
Under current Social Security Administration rules, your retirement timeline dictates the amount of benefits you receive.
You can start receiving your retirement benefits as early as age 62. If you start receiving benefits early, they will be reduced by a small percentage for each month before your full retirement age.
You are entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, the amount will increase.
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'Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act'
What we know:
The "Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act" would provide early access to retirement benefits for those in physically demanding jobs.
Qualifying covered workers would be able to access their retirement benefits starting at age 60 without getting hit with the standard early retirement penalties.
The bill also sets a specific limit letting you earn up to $833.33 a month without it cutting into your retirement checks. This specific earnings exemption applies to taxable years ending after 2026 and before 2028.
If the bill passes, these new rules would kick in for benefit payments made for any month after.
Who are ‘covered workers?'
By the numbers:
To qualify for these early benefits, an individual must be classified as a "covered worker" by accumulating either 20 base points or 15 adjusted points. A worker becomes eligible to earn points for a calendar year if they work at a physically demanding job for at least 8 months in that year.
- Base points: An eligible individual earns 1 base point for each qualifying calendar year.
- Adjusted points: Based on a worker's age at the end of the calendar year, the adjusted scale offers 0.5 points for ages 18–34, 1 point for ages 35–44, 1.5 points for ages 45–54, and 2 points for ages 55 and older.
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What counts as a ‘physically demanding job?’
Dig deeper:
The bill mandates that a list of qualifying physically demanding occupations must be published within one year of the bill's enactment, and updated every three years.
An occupation qualifies if its conditions impose substantial physical demands that may reasonably be expected to diminish an individual's ability to perform that job, or other physically demanding jobs, at an advanced age.
Some of those jobs may include construction, roofing, nursing and manufacturing, according to a press release from the Office of Rep. Haley Stevens, who proposed the bill.
Once an occupation is designated as physically demanding for a specific calendar year, that determination cannot be overturned or reversed.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the "Blue Collar Social Security Fairness Act," the Office of Rep. Haley Stevens and the Social Security Administration.