Are Texas Teachers Eligible for Medicare: TRS-Care, Part A, Part B

Yes, Texas teachers are eligible for Medicare at 65 on the same terms as any other U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The complication is not eligibility but cost: because Teacher Retirement System of Texas employment is generally not covered by Social Security, many Texas educators reach 65 without the 40 work credits that make Medicare Part A premium-free, so they either qualify through a spouse or outside work, or they pay a monthly Part A premium on top of Part B.

Why TRS Employment Changes the Medicare Math

Texas public school employees contribute 7.7 percent of salary to TRS, a defined-benefit pension that stands in for Social Security. They do pay the Medicare portion of payroll tax on wages earned after March 31, 1986, but the Social Security portion does not apply to their TRS-covered work. A teacher who spent an entire career in Texas classrooms can therefore reach retirement with a full Medicare tax history and zero Social Security work credits from that job.

Those credits, sometimes called quarters of coverage, decide two things: whether you get a monthly Social Security check, and whether Medicare Part A costs you anything. Forty credits, roughly ten years of covered work, unlocks premium-free Part A. Fall short and Part A becomes a monthly bill.

Ways a Texas Teacher Still Qualifies for Premium-Free Part A

Enrollment in Medicare at 65 is automatic in the sense that anyone eligible can sign up. What varies is whether you pay for Part A. Several paths lead to premium-free coverage even without a covered teaching record:

  • Non-teaching work covered by Social Security. Summer jobs, a pre-teaching career, or part-time work outside the district can add up. Roughly ten years of covered earnings gets you to 40 credits.
  • A current, former, or deceased spouse’s Social Security record. For a divorced spouse to qualify on an ex-spouse’s record, the marriage must have lasted at least ten years, you must be unmarried and at least 62, and the divorce must be final for at least two years.1Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 404.331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse
  • Social Security Disability Insurance benefits received for 24 months, which brings automatic Medicare Part A and Part B before 65.
  • End-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or a transplant, if you or a spouse have sufficient work history.

Lawful permanent residents who did not earn enough credits face an added rule: five continuous years of U.S. residency before they can buy into Medicare.2Social Security Administration. Medicare Before assuming you must pay for Part A, pull your earnings record at ssa.gov. Even partial credits matter, because the premium drops sharply once you cross 30 credits.

What Medicare Costs a Texas Teacher in 2026

Part A, which covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing, and hospice, is free if you have 40 credits. If not, the 2026 premium depends on how many credits you have:

  • Fewer than 30 credits: $565 per month
  • 30 to 39 credits: $311 per month

Both figures are up from 2024, when they were $505 and $278.3Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles Anyone who buys Part A must also enroll in and maintain Part B; you cannot have premium Part A on its own.4Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Original Medicare (Part A and B) Eligibility and Enrollment The Part A inpatient deductible in 2026 is $1,736 per benefit period.

Part B, which covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and preventive services, has a premium every enrollee pays regardless of work history. The 2026 standard is $202.90 per month with a $283 annual deductible.3Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles Higher-income retirees pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount based on tax returns from two years earlier. In 2026 the brackets are:

  • $109,000 or less single / $218,000 or less joint: $202.90
  • $109,001–$137,000 / $218,001–$274,000: $284.10
  • $137,001–$171,000 / $274,001–$342,000: $405.80
  • $171,001–$205,000 / $342,001–$410,000: $527.50
  • $205,001–$499,999 / $410,001–$749,999: $649.20
  • $500,000 or more / $750,000 or more: $689.90

The surcharge applies to Part D drug coverage as well.3Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles Teachers now drawing both a TRS pension and Social Security should watch the thresholds, because combined income can push the total higher than either check alone would suggest.

TRS-Care Makes Part B Mandatory

Eligibility for Medicare is a personal decision for most retirees. For a Texas teacher enrolled in TRS-Care, the retiree health program run by the Teacher Retirement System, it is not. Starting January 1, 2026, every TRS-Care participant who becomes eligible for Medicare must enroll in and pay for Part B. There is no exception.5Teacher Retirement System of Texas. TRS-Care Eligibility and Enrollment Part A rules are split:

  • If you qualify for premium-free Part A, you must enroll.
  • If you do not qualify for free Part A, you are not required to buy it, but you still must have Part B.

Letting Part B lapse, whether by never enrolling or by stopping payment, ends TRS-Care coverage for you and any covered dependents.6Teacher Retirement System of Texas. 2026 TRS-Care Plan Guide for Participants with Medicare Getting it back means waiting for a General Enrollment Period and likely paying a late enrollment penalty.

Once you provide your Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number to TRS, you are automatically enrolled in the TRS-Care Medicare Advantage plan, the only medical plan option for Medicare-eligible TRS-Care participants. The 2026 monthly premiums are:7Teacher Retirement System of Texas. 2026 TRS-Care Plan Highlights

  • Retiree only: $200
  • Retiree and child(ren): $408
  • Retiree and spouse: $689
  • Retiree and family: $999

These sit on top of the Part B premium you pay Social Security. The plan carries a $400 annual medical deductible and a $3,500 out-of-pocket maximum. Prescription coverage comes through TRS-Care Medicare Rx, administered by Express Scripts, with no separate drug deductible and no Part D coverage gap.6Teacher Retirement System of Texas. 2026 TRS-Care Plan Guide for Participants with Medicare Do not enroll in a separate individual Part D plan; doing so also ends TRS-Care coverage.

Rough Monthly Total in 2026

A Texas teacher who qualifies for premium-free Part A and stays under the income surcharge threshold pays about $403 a month in 2026: the $202.90 Part B premium plus the $200 TRS-Care Medicare Advantage retiree-only premium. A teacher who has to buy Part A at the full $565 rate is looking at more than $960 a month before any income-related surcharge. That gap is the reason it pays to check your Social Security earnings record and to look at a spouse’s record before assuming you owe the full Part A premium.

When to Enroll, and What Happens If You Miss the Window

Medicare enrollment runs on fixed windows. Your Initial Enrollment Period is seven months long: the three months before your 65th birthday month, the birthday month itself, and the three months after.8Medicare. When Does Medicare Coverage Start Signing up in the first three months gets you the earliest start date.

If you are still teaching at 65 and covered by your district’s group health plan, you can delay Medicare without penalty. When that employment or coverage ends, whichever comes first, an eight-month Special Enrollment Period opens for Part A and Part B.9Medicare. Working Past 65 COBRA does not count as employer coverage for this rule, so electing COBRA after leaving the district will not extend the window.

Miss both windows and you wait for the General Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31, with coverage starting the following month.10Social Security Administration. When to Sign Up for Medicare The penalties from missing your window last as long as you have Medicare:

  • Part B: 10 percent added to your monthly premium for each full 12 months you were eligible but not enrolled. Three years late means paying 30 percent extra for life, roughly $61 a month on the 2026 standard premium.11Medicare. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
  • Part D: 1 percent of the national base beneficiary premium ($38.99 in 2026) times the number of full months without creditable drug coverage. A 14-month gap adds about $5.50 a month, and the amount can rise as the base premium rises.12Medicare. How Much Does Medicare Drug Coverage Cost

For TRS-Care participants, missing Part B does more than trigger the federal penalty. It ends TRS-Care coverage.

The Social Security Fairness Act and Your Retirement Income

For decades, two federal rules reduced Social Security benefits for people receiving a pension from work not covered by Social Security, and that category swept in most Texas teachers. The Windfall Elimination Provision cut a teacher’s own Social Security retirement benefit; the Government Pension Offset reduced spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the TRS pension.

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, repealed both. The repeal reaches back to benefits payable for months after December 2023, so affected retirees are entitled to increases retroactive to January 2024. By mid-2025 the Social Security Administration had sent more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion, covering one-time retroactive amounts and higher monthly benefits.13Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) Update For a Texas teacher, any Social Security check earned through non-teaching work is no longer reduced because of the TRS pension, and spousal or survivor benefits are no longer offset. That extra income often goes straight toward Medicare and TRS-Care premiums. If you believe WEP or GPO reduced your benefit and you have not received an adjustment, contact the Social Security Administration directly.