What the Social Security Fairness Act Means for Texas Teachers

By Greg Stevens · 4 min read

Short answer: if you have a TRS pension and you also qualify for Social Security, from another job or through a spouse, your benefit is no longer cut. The Social Security Fairness Act ended the WEP and GPO for benefits payable from January 2024 on.

Why this matters so much in Texas

Most Texas school districts don't pay into Social Security, so teachers earn a TRS pension instead. For decades, two federal rules cut Social Security for people with that kind of pension:

• The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced the Social Security you earned from other work, like a summer job or a career before teaching.
• The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced or wiped out spousal and survivor benefits, by two-thirds of your pension. For many retired teachers, that meant a widow's benefit of zero.

A few Texas districts, including Austin ISD, do pay into Social Security. If you taught in one of them, you've been earning Social Security on that pay too.

What changed

The law was signed in January 2025. According to the Social Security Administration, December 2023 was the last month the WEP and GPO applied. By July 2025, Social Security had sent more than 3.1 million retroactive payments to people who were already receiving benefits.

Who may still need to act

The people most likely to be missing money are those who never applied, because they were told the GPO would wipe out their benefit anyway. That's common among retired teachers whose spouse worked in the private sector, and among widows and widowers.

If that's you, you may need to file an application. Social Security says back pay for most retirement and survivor claims is generally limited to six months before the month you apply, so waiting can cost you money. You can start at ssa.gov or call 800-772-1213.

If you're still teaching

Your plan may look better than you thought. Social Security you earned before teaching, or through your spouse, now counts in full. Pull your latest estimate from your my Social Security account and rerun your monthly income gap. A smaller gap can change how much you need to save, and how much risk you need to take.

What it doesn't change

Your TRS pension works exactly the same way. It still has no automatic cost-of-living increase, which is why inflation planning matters for every Texas teacher. More on that in how your TRS pension is calculated.

Sources: Social Security Administration, Texas Classroom Teachers Association. Your own benefit depends on your work record; confirm details with Social Security.