Can Texas Teachers Now Collect Spousal Social Security?

Yes. Texas teachers can now collect Social Security spousal benefits based on a husband’s or wife’s work record, and a TRS pension no longer reduces the payment. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealed the Government Pension Offset that used to wipe out these benefits for educators with non-covered pensions. The repeal applies to benefits payable from January 2024 forward, so anyone filing in 2026 faces no offset at all.¹

What the Repeal Means for TRS Retirees

Most Texas school districts do not withhold Social Security taxes from teacher pay, which is why TRS pensions used to trigger the Government Pension Offset. Under the old rule, two-thirds of your TRS pension was subtracted from any spousal or survivor benefit, often leaving nothing.²

December 2023 was the last month the GPO could reduce anyone’s benefit. If you are applying as the spouse, surviving spouse, or divorced spouse of a worker who paid into Social Security, the SSA now calculates your benefit the same way it does for everyone else. Your TRS pension amount is no longer part of the formula for months from January 2024 onward.¹

Who Qualifies for Spousal Benefits

At full retirement age, a spousal benefit can reach 50 percent of what your husband or wife receives at their full retirement age. To qualify, you must meet three conditions:

You are at least 62, or you are caring for your spouse’s child who is under 16 or has a disability.
You are currently married to the worker, or, if divorced, your marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce became final.³
Your spouse has filed for their own Social Security retirement benefits. A divorced spouse is exempt from this requirement if the divorce has been final for at least two years.⁴

The dual entitlement rule still applies. If you qualify for your own Social Security retirement benefit from non-teaching work and also qualify for a spousal benefit, you receive only the higher of the two. The SSA pays your own benefit first and adds the difference if the spousal amount is larger.⁵

Survivor Benefits After a Spouse’s Death

If your spouse has died, you may qualify for survivor benefits based on their work record. At full retirement age, a surviving spouse can receive up to 100 percent of the deceased worker’s benefit. Reduced survivor benefits are available as early as age 60, starting at about 71.5 percent and rising the longer you wait.⁶

Earlier eligibility exists in two situations. You can begin survivor benefits at 50 if you have a qualifying disability, and at any age if you are caring for the deceased worker’s child who is under 16 or has a disability and receives Social Security.⁷

Remarriage matters. If you remarry before age 60 (or before 50 if you have a disability), you generally lose survivor eligibility on your former spouse’s record. Remarriage at or after 60 does not affect it, and at 62 you can switch to benefits on your new spouse’s record if those would pay more.⁷

If You Never Applied Because of the Old Offset

Many Texas teachers never filed for spousal or survivor benefits because the GPO would have erased the entire payment. If that was you, you now need to apply. The SSA will not start paying benefits automatically.¹

File soon. The SSA only pays up to six months of retroactive benefits before the month you apply, and the Fairness Act did not change this limit. Waiting until 2027 does not let you recover benefits all the way back to January 2024; you would only receive roughly six months of back pay from your filing date.¹

Before you apply, gather these documents:

Marriage certificate (original or certified copy).
Divorce decree, if applying as a divorced spouse, showing the marriage lasted at least 10 years.³
Death certificate, if applying for survivor benefits.
Your Social Security number and your spouse’s.

Because the GPO no longer applies from January 2024 onward, you generally will not need to report your TRS pension amount for a new 2026 claim. The SSA may still request pension information to verify any months before January 2024.¹

There are three ways to apply:

Online at ssa.gov/apply. For spousal benefits, select “Family Benefits,” which routes you through the retirement application so you are considered for everything you qualify for.
By phone at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time.⁸
In person at a local Social Security field office, by appointment only.⁸

If the SSA denies your application, you have 60 days from the date you receive the decision to request reconsideration. You can file that request online, by phone, or at a local office.⁹

If You Were Already Getting a Reduced Payment

If the GPO had already cut your spousal or survivor benefit, the SSA has adjusted your payment automatically. Starting in February 2025, the agency began recalculating benefits and issuing one-time lump-sum payments covering the increase back to January 2024. By July 2025, the SSA reported more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion, completed five months ahead of schedule.¹

If your mailing address and direct deposit information are current, no action was required. The lump sum went to the bank account on file, and your monthly amount now reflects the higher figure. You can confirm the current benefit through your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount.¹

How the Age You Claim Changes the Amount

The 50 percent spousal maximum applies only if you wait until your own full retirement age. Claiming earlier means a permanent reduction. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Filing at 62, the earliest possible age, cuts the spousal benefit by about 35 percent. A spousal benefit worth $1,000 at 67 drops to roughly $650 at 62.¹⁰

Survivor benefits run on a separate schedule. At age 60 you receive 71.5 percent of the full amount, and the percentage climbs to 100 percent at full retirement age.⁶

Taxes on Benefits Received Alongside a TRS Pension

Collecting Social Security on top of a TRS pension can push part of your benefits into federal taxable income. The IRS looks at “combined income,” which is half of your Social Security benefit plus your other taxable income, including most pension payments.

For married couples filing jointly, up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits become taxable once combined income passes $32,000, and up to 85 percent once it passes $44,000. Single filers hit those thresholds at $25,000 and $34,000. Texas does not tax personal income, so only the federal portion applies.

Because the TRS pension counts toward combined income, Texas teachers newly collecting spousal benefits may want to set up estimated tax payments or adjust withholding before the first full benefit year to avoid an unexpected bill.

1
Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset
2
Social Security Administration. Program Explainer: Government Pension Offset
3
Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse
4
Social Security Administration. Benefits for Spouses
5
Social Security Administration. POMS RS 00615.020 – Dual Entitlement Overview
6
Social Security Administration. What You Could Get From Survivor Benefits
7
Social Security Administration. Survivors Benefits
8
Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security
9
Social Security Administration. Request Reconsideration
10
Social Security Administration. Benefits Planner: Retirement – Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction