ARE THE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TEACHERS CAN COLLECT SUBJECT TO REDUCTIONS?
Retired teachers may be eligible for Social Security (1) if they have enough other work covered by Social Security to qualify or (2) through a spouse’s work. But in such cases, their Social Security benefits are reduced because of their TRS pensions. The spousal benefit reduction is called the “government pension offset” and the reduction in benefits for other work is called the “windfall elimination provision. ” These benefit reductions are required by federal law and the General Assembly has no authority to change them. They are designed to keep the Social Security system from paying people benefits that are higher than their financial circumstances warrant because most of their earnings are outside the Social Security system.
