SpaceX Is Planning a $100 Billion Louisiana Spaceport. At 63, One Welder Wants One Last Job Before Mars.
A welder nearing retirement sees the SpaceX Louisiana spaceport as one last shot at a legendary job, but taking it could quietly reshape his Social Security benefit in ways most workers never think to check.
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A hypothetical 63-year-old traveling welder has spent most of his career going where the work is. Refineries, power plants, shutdowns, industrial builds. He is finally thinking about hanging up the hood and filing for Social Security when SpaceX announces something different: a $100 billion Louisiana spaceport built around Starship. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
SpaceX says the massive Vermilion Parish complex could support thousands of Starship launches a year and create 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade. Starship is also the vehicle SpaceX is building to carry people and cargo to the Moon, Mars and beyond. For a welder who has spent his life building other people’s projects, the chance to put his hands on that one may be enough to postpone retirement. Social Security gives him another reason to think twice before filing.
One Last Big Job Can Improve the 35-Year Record
Social Security calculates retirement benefits using a worker’s highest 35 years of indexed earnings. At 63, our welder probably already has 35 years on the books. That does not mean the record has stopped changing. If a high-paying SpaceX construction year replaces a weaker year from earlier in his career, his average indexed monthly earnings can rise and Social Security can recalculate the eventual benefit.
The effect depends on his existing record. Someone who already has 35 years near the Social Security wage ceiling may see little improvement. A worker with layoffs, slow construction years or lower-paid stretches earlier in his career has more room for a strong late year to matter. Either way, working longer does not force him to start Social Security.
For someone born in 1964, full retirement age is 67. Filing at 63 would generally mean accepting about 75% of the benefit available at 67. Waiting until 67 removes that early-claim reduction, and delaying beyond 67 earns additional retirement credits through age 70 (we boiled the 62 vs. 67 vs. 70 question onto a single page in a free claiming framework).
Filing at 63 While Welding Creates a Different Problem
Suppose he cannot resist starting Social Security while he takes the Louisiana job. Now the retirement earnings test enters the picture. In 2026, someone below full retirement age (FRA) all year can earn $24,480 before Social Security begins withholding $1 in benefits for every $2 above the limit. A skilled welder on a major industrial project could cross that threshold quickly.
The benefits withheld under the earnings test are not simply forfeited. Social Security adjusts the benefit at FRA to account for months affected by withholding. But that does not make collecting early particularly useful for someone still earning a strong paycheck. He could be locking in an early-claim reduction while watching much of the near-term benefit disappear into withholding. The job may make waiting easier.
Even the Travel Money Can Change Along the Way
A long assignment creates one more nuance. A traveling worker may initially receive tax-free reimbursements for lodging and meals when an assignment away from his tax home is realistically expected to last one year or less. But if the job becomes indefinite, those travel payments can lose their tax-free treatment. The timing depends on expectations, not simply reaching day 366.
If a nine-month assignment later gets extended beyond a year, reimbursements can become taxable from the point the expectation changes. If everyone knew from the beginning that the assignment would last more than a year, it may be indefinite from the start. Once those payments become taxable wages, they can also become Social Security-covered earnings up to the annual wage base. That is a secondary consideration, not a reason to take the job. But it shows how one decision to stay a few more months can keep changing the retirement math.
Decide What One More Working Year Is Worth
Before trading the retirement date for one last major project, put the job and Social Security on the same page.
- Check the 35-year earnings record. See whether a strong new year would replace a weaker one.
- Compare filing now with waiting. A paycheck can provide the bridge that makes delaying Social Security possible.
- Ask how long the assignment is expected to last. A traveling worker should know when tax-free living expenses could turn into taxable wages.
At 63, he may have thought the biggest project left was retirement. Then along comes a chance to help build the rockets meant for Mars.
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Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
