Last Updated: December 16, 2025

Another consideration in receiving Social Security benefits is whether you’re employed in the public sector. In the past, public sector employees didn’t earn Social Security credits because they were assumed to have different retirement arrangements.

These days, many state employees and even federal employees can opt into the Social Security system.^1,2 However, earnings prior to 1983 won’t be included in your calculations. Additionally, the federal government operates using a retirement system called the Federal Employee Retirement System, commonly known as FERS. Before 1986 however, the primary retirement system was the CSRS or Civil Service Retirement System. It’s important to note that your social security access is based on which system you were part of if you’re a federal or state employee.

Federal and State Employees

Civil Service Retirement System

This system was created to provide civilian employees of the federal government (workers who support the government but aren’t in the military) with a retirement package. Under CSRS, if you’re a government employee, you’ll likely receive pension payments from your employer. In addition, government employees grandfathered into the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) before 1984 can be provided retirement, survivor, and disability benefits.³ 

If you benefit from this act, you won’t receive Social Security benefits when you retire because you wouldn’t have paid into the system during your working years (but you may be able to receive Medicare if you stayed in the CSRS system after 1983). However, should your spouse be entitled to Social Security, you may still qualify for spousal Social Security benefits, though they may be reduced (more on that later).

Federal Employee Retirement System

If you’ve spent your career working for the government, you’re probably familiar with the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). Created in 1986 and put into effect the following year, FERS is the government’s more modernized retirement plan that provides benefits from three different sources: a monthly annuity, Social Security, and a global retirement plan called a TSP or Thrift Savings Plan. All employees covered by FERS are eligible for Social Security.  If FERS covers you, you contribute to Social Security similarly to private sector employees.  The Thrift Savings Plan has similarities to a 401k, where employees can contribute up to 10% of their pre-tax savings to the plan and benefit from up to a 5% match from the Government.⁴

State and Local Employees

While at one time, Social Security didn’t cover State and local employees, today, the majority of State and local government employees are covered by retirement systems maintained by the States and localities. The provisions of these plans vary from one jurisdiction to another.  If your state has a ‘Section 218 agreement’ that typically means you are covered by Social Security.  Additionally, unless you are specifically excluded, employees hired after March 31st, 1986 are eligible for Medicare.⁵

Teachers

While many state employees can access Social Security benefits as long as they meet the credit requirements, not all teachers still have access to the system. As of 2023, 33 states offer teachers Social Security participation. However, there are 13 states⁶ that have opted out of Social Security and provide teachers with pension benefits instead. These states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio. In Georgia, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and Utah, inclusion in Social Security varies based on your school district.

Because 74.3% of all teachers are women, this is another data point that can affect women in retirement. If you’re a teacher that doesn’t have access to Social Security-eligible earnings, it’s important to understand your state’s retirement system and how you can access pension and retirement benefits later.

Teachers'  Social Security eligibility depends on what state and school district they work in. This is because many states offer teachers a pension in lieu of Social Security. Some states provide coverage to teachers while others do not, and a small number of states have a mixed landscape where certain districts in the state have coverage, and others do not.

For teachers who do not participate in Social Security, one of the most significant retirement benefits they don’t receive is the spousal or survivor benefit. Not being able to collect this benefit could be damaging to educators later in life when the survivor benefit protects a surviving spouse. With women outliving men and comprising over 75% of the educator population, for those that are married, retirement planning needs to factor in a plan for when both partners are alive and for when one is a survivor.

SOURCES:

1. “How State and Local Government Employees are Covered by Social Security and Medicare.” Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10051.pdf. Accessed 28 February 2023.

2. “Social Security Benefits for Federal Workers.” Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/fedgovees.html. Accessed 28 February 2023.

3. Retirement Services CSRS Information.” U.S. Office of Personnel Management, www.opm.gov/retirement-services/csrs-information/. Accessed 6 October 2022.

4. “Retirement Services FERS Information.” U.S. Office of Personnel Management, www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/. Accessed 6 October 2022.

5. “How State and Local Government Employees are Covered by Social Security and Medicare” https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/sspus/govment.pdf. Accessed 6 October 2022.

6. “Not All Teacher Retirement Is Created Equal.” nces.edu.gov https://nces.ed.gov/programs/mapED/storymaps/TeacherSocialSecurity/index.html Accessed 6 October 2022