Can Texas Teachers Now Collect Spousal Social Security?

Yes — Texas teachers can now collect Social Security spousal benefits in full. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on January 5, 2025, repealed the Government Pension Offset (GPO), the rule that used to slash or wipe out spousal and survivor benefits for retirees drawing a Teacher Retirement System (TRS) pension. The repeal applies to benefits payable from January 2024 forward, so a Texas educator applying today faces no offset at all.¹

What the Repeal Actually Changed

Most Texas school districts do not withhold Social Security taxes from teacher pay, which meant TRS pensions used to trigger the GPO. Under the old formula, the Social Security Administration took two-thirds of your monthly TRS pension and subtracted it from any spousal or survivor benefit you would otherwise receive. For many teachers, that subtraction erased the benefit entirely.²

December 2023 was the last month the GPO could reduce anyone’s payment. From January 2024 forward, spousal and survivor benefits for TRS retirees are calculated the same way they are for anyone else.¹

Who Qualifies for Spousal Benefits

With the offset gone, standard Social Security rules govern eligibility. A spousal benefit can equal up to 50 percent of your spouse’s benefit at their full retirement age, and your TRS pension no longer reduces that figure.³

To qualify, you must meet three basic requirements:

Be at least 62, or be caring for your spouse’s child who is under 16 or has a disability.
Be currently married to the worker, or if divorced, have been married at least 10 years before the divorce became final.⁴
Have a spouse who has already filed for their own Social Security retirement benefits. This requirement does not apply to divorced spouses if the divorce has been final for at least two years.³

One rule the repeal did not touch: dual entitlement. If you also qualify for a Social Security retirement benefit of your own — perhaps from summer jobs, a second career, or work before teaching — you receive the higher of the two amounts, not both combined. The SSA pays your own benefit first and then adds the difference if the spousal benefit is larger.⁵

Survivor Benefits After a Spouse’s Death

If your spouse has died, you may qualify for a survivor benefit based on their earnings record. At your full retirement age, that benefit equals up to 100 percent of what the deceased worker was entitled to receive. Reduced survivor benefits are available starting at age 60, beginning around 71.5 percent of the full amount and increasing the longer you wait.⁶

Survivor benefits can start as early as age 50 if you have a disability, or 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 benefits.⁷

Remarriage matters here. Remarrying before age 60 (or before 50 if you have a disability) generally ends your eligibility for survivor benefits on your former spouse’s record. Remarriage after 60 does not affect eligibility, and at 62 you can compare survivor benefits against spousal benefits on your new spouse’s record and take whichever is higher.⁷

If You Never Applied Because of the GPO

Many Texas teachers never filed because the old offset would have zeroed out the payment. You need to apply now. The SSA will not automatically start paying spousal or survivor benefits to someone who has never applied.¹

Timing matters because retroactive pay is capped. The SSA generally pays no more than six months of back benefits before the month you file. The Fairness Act did not extend this window. Filing in 2026 will not recover benefits stretching back to January 2024 — you would collect roughly six months of retroactive benefits from your filing date, plus ongoing monthly payments.¹

If You Were Already Receiving a Reduced Benefit

If you were already collecting a spousal or survivor benefit that the GPO had cut, the SSA has adjusted your payment automatically. Beginning in February 2025, the agency started recalculating benefits and sending one-time lump-sum payments covering the increase back to January 2024. As of July 2025, more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion had been issued.¹

If your address and direct deposit information are current, no action was required. You can confirm your updated monthly benefit through your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount.¹

When You Claim Changes What You Get

Even without the GPO, the age you claim controls the size of your payment. A spousal benefit reaches its full 50 percent only if you wait until your own full retirement age. Claim earlier and the reduction is permanent.

For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Claiming a spousal benefit at 62, the earliest possible age, cuts it by about 35 percent. A $1,000 benefit at age 67 becomes roughly $650 at 62.⁸

Survivor benefits use a different schedule. The reduced amount starts at 71.5 percent at age 60 and rises to 100 percent at full retirement age.⁶

How to Apply

Gather your documents first:

Your marriage certificate, original or certified copy.
Your divorce decree, if applying as a divorced spouse, showing the marriage lasted at least 10 years.⁴
The death certificate, if applying for survivor benefits.
Your Social Security number and your spouse’s Social Security number.

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

There are three ways to file:

Online at ssa.gov/apply. Select “Family Benefits,” which routes you through the retirement application and screens you for every benefit you may qualify for.
By phone at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time.⁹
In person at your local Social Security field office, by appointment only.⁹

If your claim is denied, you have 60 days from the date you receive the decision to request reconsideration, which you can file online, by phone, or at a local office.¹⁰

Taxes on a Pension Plus Social Security

Adding Social Security to a TRS pension can push part of your benefits into taxable territory. The IRS uses “combined income” — half of your Social Security benefit plus other taxable income, including most pension payments — to decide how much of your Social Security is taxed.

For married couples filing jointly, up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits become taxable at combined income above $32,000, and up to 85 percent above $44,000. For single filers, the thresholds are $25,000 and $34,000. Texas has no state income tax, so only federal tax applies.

Because a TRS pension counts toward combined income, teachers newly receiving spousal benefits often owe federal tax on part of them. Setting up estimated payments or adjusting withholding before your first full benefit year can prevent a surprise at tax time.

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. Benefits for Spouses
4
Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse
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. Benefits Planner: Retirement – Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction
9
Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security
10
Social Security Administration. Request Reconsideration