Montana Needs About 3,700 Construction Hires a Year as Older Workers Leave the Trades. At 65, Staying on the Job Could Make Waiting Until 70 Much More Valuable

Montana needs roughly 3,700 construction hires a year over the coming decade as older skilled workers leave the trades. Imagine a 65-year-old carpenter in Billings. His knees ache on cold mornings, but contractors keep calling and his paychecks are as good as they have ever been. He can hang up the tool belt and file for Social Security now. He can also work another year or two and let those wages pay for a later, larger check.

Montana’s labor shortage isn’t happening in a vacuum. Nationally, housing starts are running at an annualized 1.27 million, keeping builders busy even as the industry contends with a shortage of skilled workers. For an experienced carpenter, retirement may be a choice he can live with.

Why Age 67 and Age 70 Matter More Than 65

For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age (FRA) is 67. Claim before then and the check drops permanently.

Delay past the age for full benefits and Social Security adds delayed retirement credits worth 8% per year, with the increases stopping at age 70. Waiting the full three years produces a benefit 24% larger before any cost-of-living raises.

Here is how that looks in dollars. Say his benefit at 67 would be $2,000 a month. Claiming at 65 cuts it to about $1,733. Waiting until 70 lifts it to $2,480. That gap is roughly $8,960 a year, every year for the rest of his life.

The early claimant does collect five extra years of checks first. The bigger check needs about 11.6 years after age 70 to catch up, which puts the crossover in his early 80s. Every year he lives past that point is pure gain from waiting.

Claiming at 65 While Still Swinging a Hammer Mostly Backfires

If he files now and keeps working, the earnings test kicks in. Before FRA, the 2026 limit is $24,480. Social Security deducts $1 for every $2 earned above it.

Suppose he earns about $65,000, close to the national median for full-time workers of $1,251 a week. Roughly $20,260 of his benefit would be withheld, out of an annual check of about $20,800. He would lock in a reduced benefit and see almost none of it.

Withheld months are credited back once he reaches the age for full benefits, through a permanently higher monthly payment. Stacking benefits on top of full wages also tends to make more of each check taxable under IRS rules. For a full-time worker, filing at 65 adds paperwork and taxes while delivering little cash.

How Two More Years of Wages Ripple Through the Rest of His Plan

Every year of paychecks is another year his retirement savings keep growing untouched. If he stops working at 67, those savings can cover living costs until 70, while Social Security keeps adding credits in the background. The decision to stop working and the decision to claim are separate, and he can make them in different years.

Cost-of-living raises widen the dollar gap. The 2027 adjustment is projected at 3.5%-3.6%. At 3.5%, that would add about $87 a month to a $2,480 benefit, compared with $61 on $1,733. Because raises are percentages, the bigger base pulls further ahead every year.

Medicare deserves attention at 65, even if Social Security can wait. Most people enroll around their 65th birthday, but workers with qualifying employer health coverage may be able to delay Part B without a penalty.

What to Weigh Before Hanging Up the Tool Belt

Start with your body and your family history. Waiting pays off most for people who expect to live well into their 80s. Construction is hard on joints and backs, and nobody should grind through injuries just to raise a check. If two more years on job sites feels like too much, an easier role such as estimating, inspecting, or training apprentices can keep wages coming while the benefit grows

The mistake that is hardest to undo is claiming early without a reason. A smaller check stays that way for life. For married workers, the larger check can also become the surviving spouse’s benefit, so waiting protects two people. A few extra years on the job at 65 can buy decades of steadier income.

Your earnings record, your health, and whether you are married all shape the right answer, so pull your own estimate from Social Security before you decide.

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