Ohio teachers do not pay into Social Security on their teaching wages. Instead, 14% of each paycheck goes to the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS Ohio), a state-run pension that replaces the federal program for anyone in a position requiring a teaching license. No Social Security tax is withheld from teaching pay, and no Social Security credits accrue for years spent in an Ohio public classroom.
Why Ohio Teaching Wages Are Exempt
When Congress extended Social Security coverage to state and local government workers in the 1950s, each state could choose whether to bring its public employees into the federal system through a Section 218 agreement. Ohio kept its teachers out and maintained a standalone pension. That decision still controls: Ohio teaching service is non-covered employment under federal law, so neither the teacher nor the school district owes the 6.2% Social Security tax on those wages.
About 40% of public K–12 teachers nationwide work in states that made the same choice. Ohio has a higher share of non-covered public employees than any other state, which is why this question comes up so often here.
What STRS Ohio Takes Instead
Enrollment in STRS Ohio is mandatory for any teacher in a licensed position. There is no opt-out. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3307.26, the employee contribution is 14% of gross compensation, a rate in effect since July 2016. The statute caps the employee rate at 14% and allows the STRS board to lower it if the system’s actuary determines a reduction won’t harm the fund.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3307.26 – Contributions Districts match with their own 14% employer contribution, set by the actuary under the same statutory ceiling.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3307.28 – Employer Contribution
Contributions are pre-tax under IRS Section 414(h)(2). The district “picks up” the employee share and sends it straight to STRS, so the money never appears as gross income on that year’s W-2.3Internal Revenue Service. Employer Pick-Up Contributions to Benefit Plans Income tax comes due later when pension payments arrive in retirement. Teachers moving over from private-sector jobs sometimes miss this deferral in the paycheck math.
The contribution rate is higher than Social Security’s 6.2%. In exchange, a career educator’s STRS pension can pay more than Social Security would have.
Three Plans, One Choice
New STRS members choose from three plans:
- Defined Benefit Plan: a traditional pension paying a monthly amount for life based on years of service and final average salary.
- Defined Contribution Plan: an individual investment account, with retirement income tied to how the investments perform.
- Combined Plan: a hybrid splitting contributions between a smaller pension and an investment account.
If you pick the Defined Contribution or Combined Plan and reconsider, you can switch to a different STRS plan before finishing your fifth year of membership.4STRS Ohio. Plan Options After that, the choice is locked in.
When You Can Retire
For Defined Benefit Plan members, STRS Ohio announced eligibility rules that apply from June 1, 2025 through May 1, 2030:
- Unreduced benefit: any age with 32 years of service, or age 65 with at least 5 years.
- Reduced benefit: any age with 27 years of service, or age 60 with at least 5 years.
A reduced benefit lets you leave earlier but permanently lowers the monthly pension to reflect the longer payout period.5STRS Ohio. Retirement Eligibility Changes Announced A teacher who starts at 23 and stays in Ohio’s public schools can reach unreduced eligibility by 55.
Social Security You Earned Somewhere Else
Most Ohio teachers didn’t start teaching at 22. Credits earned in earlier private-sector jobs, summer work, or side jobs still count. With at least 40 credits, roughly 10 years of covered work, you qualify for your own Social Security retirement benefit based on that earnings history.
Two federal rules used to cut those benefits sharply for anyone also drawing a pension from non-covered work. The Windfall Elimination Provision reduced the teacher’s own Social Security check, and the Government Pension Offset reduced or eliminated spousal and survivor benefits. Both applied to Ohio teachers.
The Fairness Act Repeal
The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, signed on January 5, 2025, repealed both provisions for benefits payable after December 2023.6Congress.gov. H.R.82 – Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 Ohio teachers with Social Security credits from other work now have their benefit calculated using the standard formula, with no reduction tied to their STRS pension.
The repeal is retroactive to January 2024. The Social Security Administration began adjusting payments in February 2025, and by July 2025 it had sent more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion to affected beneficiaries. If you were already receiving both an STRS pension and a reduced Social Security check, the increase and a lump-sum retroactive payment should have arrived automatically.7Social Security Administration. Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO)
If you never applied for Social Security because you assumed WEP or GPO would erase the benefit, file now. Retroactive benefits on a retirement claim generally reach back only six months before the month you apply, so waiting has a real cost.
Medicare Is Not Exempt
The Social Security carve-out does not cover Medicare. Nearly every Ohio teacher pays the standard 1.45% Medicare tax on all earnings, shown as a separate line on the pay stub. Congress required Medicare coverage for state and local government workers hired after March 31, 1986. A narrow continuing-employment exception exists for anyone working for the same governmental entity without a break since before that date,8Internal Revenue Service. Medicare Continuing Employment Exception but as a practical matter, anyone hired in the past 39 years pays the tax and builds Medicare eligibility for age 65.
Private School Teachers Are Different
Private school teachers are not part of Ohio’s Section 218 arrangement and do not enroll in STRS Ohio. They pay Social Security at the standard 6.2% like other private-sector workers. If you are weighing a public school offer against a private school offer, the retirement structures behind those salaries are not comparable on their face.
If You Leave Teaching Before Retirement
Leaving Ohio public education before qualifying for a pension lets you withdraw your accumulated STRS contributions. A withdrawal cancels your membership, erases your service credit, and ends any future eligibility for STRS retirement benefits or health care. Under the Defined Benefit and Combined Plans, members under age 50 must withdraw the entire account rather than take a partial distribution.9STRS Ohio. Account Withdrawal
Taxes matter here. Because contributions went in pre-tax, a lump-sum refund is taxable income. If you’re under 59½, a 10% early-distribution penalty applies on top of regular income tax.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 558, Additional Tax on Early Distributions From Retirement Plans Other Than IRAs A direct rollover into another qualified plan or IRA avoids both. The difference between cashing out and rolling over can run into thousands of dollars.
Building Savings on Top of STRS
Because teaching wages produce no Social Security floor, additional retirement savings carry more weight for Ohio teachers than for most workers. Two tax-advantaged accounts are available to public school employees:
- 403(b) plans, with a 2026 contribution limit of $24,500 and an $8,000 catch-up for those 50 and older.
- 457(b) deferred compensation plans, offered by many districts, with the same $24,500 base limit and $8,000 catch-up for 2026.
The 403(b) and 457(b) limits are independent of each other and independent of STRS contributions. A teacher with access to both plans could defer up to $49,000 a year in voluntary savings on top of the mandatory 14% flowing to STRS.11Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, participants aged 60 through 63 get an enhanced catch-up. For 2026, that higher amount is $11,250, replacing the standard $8,000 for those specific ages. Not every district’s plan has adopted the provision yet, so check with your plan administrator if you’re in that window.