No — most Texas public school teachers do not pay into Social Security through their district paycheck. Instead, they contribute to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), a state-run pension that replaces Social Security for the majority of public education employees. There are two important exceptions: every teacher still pays the federal Medicare tax, and a small number of Texas districts have opted into Social Security coverage, so their employees pay both.
What Texas Teachers Pay Instead of Social Security
If you work at least half of a full-time schedule for a TRS-covered employer — a public school district, charter school, regional education service center, or public community college — participation in TRS is mandatory under Texas Government Code Title 8, Subtitle C.
Rather than the 6.2% federal payroll tax that private-sector workers pay toward Social Security, TRS members contribute 8.25% of gross monthly salary on a pre-tax basis.1Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Member Contributions The state of Texas matches with 8.25%, and the employing district adds another 2%.2Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Reporting Contribution Rates FY2018-Present Members also pay a separate 0.65% toward TRS-Care, the retiree health benefit program. These rates were phased in under Senate Bill 12 from the 2019 legislative session, with the final increases taking effect in fiscal year 2025.
In exchange for those contributions, TRS pays a defined benefit pension — a guaranteed monthly annuity based on your years of service and salary history — rather than an account balance that rises and falls with the markets. That is the fundamental trade: no Social Security retirement benefit from your teaching job, but a lifetime pension from the state instead.
Medicare Tax Still Applies
The Social Security exemption is specifically about the 6.2% old-age and survivors portion of federal payroll tax. The 1.45% Medicare tax is separate, and almost every Texas teacher pays it.
If you were hired after March 31, 1986, federal law requires you to pay the Medicare tax even though your position is not covered by Social Security. Your district pays a matching 1.45%. This matters at retirement: 40 quarters of Medicare-covered work, roughly 10 years, qualifies you for premium-free Medicare Part A hospital insurance at age 65.3Social Security Administration. Medicare Teachers hired before April 1, 1986, who never paid Medicare tax through any job can still enroll in Part A, but they would owe a monthly premium.
Districts That Do Pay Into Social Security
A small number of Texas districts have voluntarily brought their employees under Social Security coverage through a Section 218 agreement — a contract between the state and the Social Security Administration that extends federal coverage to specific groups of public employees.4Social Security Administration. Section 218 Agreements These agreements cover positions, not individuals, so if your position is covered, you pay in.
Teachers in these districts pay the full 6.2% Social Security tax on top of the 8.25% TRS contribution, which produces a visibly larger payroll deduction. In return, they earn Social Security credits while also building a TRS pension. San Antonio Independent School District is one well-known example of a district that participates for all employees. The majority of Texas districts never entered into a Section 218 agreement and remain outside the Social Security system entirely.
To check your own situation, look at your pay stub for a Social Security or OASDI deduction, or ask your district’s human resources office. The answer determines whether you are building benefits in one system or two.
Earning Social Security Through Other Work
Even if your teaching job is not covered, you can earn Social Security credits through other employment — a summer job, a second job, a prior career in the private sector, or self-employment. You can also qualify for spousal or survivor benefits based on a husband’s or wife’s work record. For decades, two federal rules sharply reduced those benefits for Texas teachers. Both are now gone.
The Social Security Fairness Act (Public Law 118-273), signed on January 5, 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset.5Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) The repeal is retroactive to January 2024, so benefits payable from that month forward are no longer reduced by either rule.6GovInfo. Public Law 118-273 – Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
The WEP had reduced a teacher’s own Social Security retirement benefit by lowering the first factor in the benefit formula from 90% to as little as 40% for workers with fewer than 30 years of Social Security–covered earnings.7Social Security Administration. Program Explainer: Windfall Elimination Provision The GPO had reduced spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the TRS pension amount, which for many Texas teachers wiped out the spousal benefit altogether.8Social Security Administration. Program Explainer: Government Pension Offset
As of July 2025, the Social Security Administration had sent more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion in retroactive benefits to affected beneficiaries.5Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) If you were already drawing a reduced Social Security check, your monthly amount should now reflect the full unreduced calculation, and you should have received a lump sum covering the increase back to January 2024. If you previously decided not to file for Social Security because the WEP or GPO would have eliminated it, contact the Social Security Administration about a new claim. Your TRS pension is not reduced by any Social Security benefit you receive.9Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Social Security and TRS
How to Confirm Your Own Situation
Three quick checks will tell you where you stand:
- Look at a recent pay stub. A TRS deduction of 8.25% and a Medicare deduction of 1.45% with no Social Security or OASDI line means you are in the standard arrangement. An additional 6.2% OASDI line means your district participates in Social Security.
- Ask your district’s human resources office whether the district has a Section 218 agreement.
- Create or log in to a my Social Security account to see the earnings and credits already on your record from other jobs or prior careers.
For most Texas teachers, the retirement picture is a TRS pension, Medicare Part A built up through the 1.45% payroll tax, and — now that the Fairness Act has repealed the WEP and GPO — any Social Security benefit you independently earned through other work or through a spouse, paid in full.