Louisiana TRSL: Teachers' Retirement and Social Security

Last Updated: September 25, 2026

Most Louisiana public school teachers are members of TRSL — the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana — and do not pay into Social Security from their teaching job. TRSL states plainly that its members, except those in Plan B, "do not participate in Social Security, so they are not eligible for Social Security benefits through their TRSL-covered employment." For decades, any Social Security a TRSL member earned from other work was cut by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and spousal and survivor benefits were cut by the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, repealed both provisions for benefits payable after December 2023.

Looking for the official TRSL website? It's trsl.org, where you manage your pension account, benefit estimates, and retirement application. Your Social Security record lives separately at my Social Security on ssa.gov. This guide explains how the two systems interact.

This guide covers what changed, how TRSL's increases work, and what married couples should do now.

Check your updated Social Security benefit estimate →

The Two-System Picture: TRSL and Social Security

TRSL is Louisiana's retirement system for public school teachers and other education employees. It runs its own defined-benefit pension, and for most members that pension takes the place of Social Security on their teaching wages.

For members in the TRSL Regular Plan:

• No Social Security (OASDI) tax is withheld from TRSL-covered paychecks
• No Social Security credits are earned from TRSL-covered employment
• A TRSL pension is earned instead, based on years of service, final average compensation, and a benefit factor

The exception is Plan B. According to TRSL, Plan B covers school food service workers in the 20 parishes that kept Social Security coverage. Plan B members contribute 5.0% of salary plus the old-age portion of Social Security, and their pension uses a smaller benefit factor.

Source: TRSL, Benefits after January 2011

If you're not sure which plan you're in, check a recent pay stub. If Social Security (OASDI) tax is withheld, that job is covered. If it isn't, you're in a non-covered TRSL position.

What the Fairness Act Means for TRSL Members

Before 2025, two federal rules targeted people like TRSL retirees:

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) used a modified formula to shrink the Social Security retirement benefit of anyone who also received a pension from non-covered work. A TRSL retiree who had worked ten or fifteen years in covered jobs saw that Social Security check cut. See our full explanation of the Windfall Elimination Provision.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced Social Security spousal and survivor benefits by $2 for every $3 of a non-covered pension. For many retired Louisiana teachers, a TRSL pension was large enough to wipe out a spousal or widow's benefit entirely. Our Government Pension Offset guide covers the history.

Both provisions are gone for benefits payable after December 2023.

In practice, this means:

• Your own Social Security benefit from covered work outside TRSL is now figured with the standard formula
• A spousal benefit on your husband's or wife's record is no longer cut because of your TRSL pension
• A survivor benefit after your spouse dies is no longer offset by your TRSL pension

One point TRSL makes clear: your TRSL benefit "was/is not reduced or impacted by federal offsets or the elimination of those federal offsets." The Fairness Act changed your Social Security payments only. Your pension amount stays the same.

For the full legal picture, see our Social Security Fairness Act guide.

Retroactive Payments: What TRSL Retirees May Be Owed

The repeal applies to benefits payable for January 2024 onward. Starting February 25, 2025, the SSA began raising monthly payments for people whose benefits had been reduced by WEP or GPO. It also paid a one-time lump sum covering the increase back to January 2024.

By July 7, 2025, the SSA reported it had sent more than 3.1 million retroactive payments totaling $17 billion.

If you were already receiving a reduced Social Security benefit, you should have seen:

• A higher monthly payment going forward
• A lump-sum payment covering January 2024 through your first adjusted payment

If you never applied for a spousal or survivor benefit because GPO would have erased it, contact the SSA about applying now.

To verify your payment: Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount and review your benefit history, or call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

The TRSL COLA: How Permanent Benefit Increases Work

TRSL's version of a COLA is called a permanent benefit increase (PBI), and it isn't automatic.

According to TRSL, a PBI "is payable to eligible retirees and beneficiaries on July 1, subject to TRSL Board recommendation and legislative approval, as long as there are sufficient funds in the TRSL Experience Account."

That means three conditions have to line up:

1. Money in the Experience Account. The account receives up to 50% of TRSL's excess investment earnings, after the first $200 million of excess earnings has gone toward paying down debt. Under 80% funded, the account can hold enough for only one PBI; at 80% or higher, it can hold two.
2. A TRSL Board recommendation.
3. Approval by the Louisiana Legislature.

How big a PBI can be. The size depends on TRSL's funded ratio and investment results. It ranges from the lesser of 1.5% or CPI-U up to the lesser of 3% or CPI-U. PBIs are calculated only on the first $60,000 of annual benefit, a threshold adjusted each year by CPI-U. The 2022 act, for example, applied the increase to the first $68,396 of each benefit.

Who qualifies. By July 1 of the year the PBI takes effect:

• Regular retirees must have received a benefit for at least one year and be at least 60
• Disability retirees must have been retired for at least one year, at any age
• Beneficiaries must have received a benefit for at least one year, and the deceased member would have been at least 60

Recent history. The Legislature approved a 2% PBI effective July 1, 2022 (Senate Bill 6 of the 2022 Regular Session). TRSL's own history lists 1.5% increases in 2014 and 2016, and no increases from 2023 through 2025.

Why this matters: For a TRSL household, Social Security may be the only income that reliably keeps up with inflation, so getting the most from it matters more.

The 40-Quarter Requirement: What TRSL Doesn't Provide

Regular Plan service doesn't build Social Security credits. To get a Social Security retirement benefit on your own record, you need 40 credits (about 10 years) of covered work at some point in your career. See how Social Security work credits are earned.

Many Louisiana teachers have some covered work, such as jobs before teaching or summer and part-time work outside the school system.

If your whole career was in non-covered TRSL service, you may have no Social Security record of your own. The Fairness Act doesn't create a benefit for you in that case. But it can still matter a great deal, because a spousal or survivor benefit on your spouse's record is no longer offset by your TRSL pension.

Check in under a minute: Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount and look at your earnings history. Years in covered work show wages. Years in a non-covered TRSL position show zero.

A separate check: Medicare Part A. Under federal law, state and local government employees hired after March 31, 1986 generally pay the Medicare portion of payroll tax even when they don't pay Social Security tax (SSA: Mandatory Medicare Coverage). Those years count toward the 40 quarters needed for premium-free Part A. Some employees continuously employed since before April 1, 1986 are exempt — check your W-2 for Medicare tax withheld. Without 40 qualifying quarters of your own or through a spouse, 2026 Part A costs $311/month (30–39 quarters) or $565/month (fewer than 30). Source: CMS 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums.

Claiming Strategy for Couples with a TRSL Pension and Social Security

For married couples near retirement, the main decisions are who claims when, and on whose record.

1. Timing your own Social Security. If your full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full benefit, and waiting until 70 pays 124%. Because TRSL pension increases depend on the Legislature and the Experience Account, the inflation-adjusted Social Security check is usually the income worth growing.

2. The spousal benefit is back on the table. A spouse can receive up to 50% of the other spouse's full-retirement-age benefit, less any Social Security of their own. Before 2024, GPO often erased this for TRSL retirees. Now a TRSL spouse married to someone with a solid Social Security record may qualify for a meaningful monthly check. Model it with our spousal benefits calculator.

3. Protect the survivor. When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two Social Security benefits. If the higher earner claims early, the survivor benefit is permanently smaller. With GPO gone, a widowed TRSL retiree can now collect that survivor benefit in full on top of their pension. See our guide to Social Security survivor benefits.

4. Know your TRSL retirement dates. For Regular Plan members who joined between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2015, TRSL lists retirement at age 60 with 5 years of service. For those who joined on or after July 1, 2015, it's age 62 with 5 years. Either group can retire at any age with 20 years, with an actuarial reduction. Leaving teaching before your Social Security claiming age can create an income gap that affects when you claim.

Steps to Take Now

1. Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount. Check your earnings record and your current benefit estimate, which no longer includes a WEP reduction.

2. Review your TRSL account. Log in to myTRSL and check your service credit and member statement, so you know what pension to plan around.

3. If married, model both records together. With GPO gone, a TRSL spouse with little or no Social Security may qualify for a spousal benefit. Compare claiming ages for both of you.

4. If widowed, apply or ask about a survivor benefit. If GPO previously reduced or eliminated your survivor benefit, or you never applied because of it, contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

5. Don't count on a yearly TRSL increase. Build your budget on your current pension amount, and treat any future PBI as a bonus that needs legislative approval.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Louisiana teachers in TRSL pay into Social Security?

No, not for most members. TRSL states that its members, excluding Plan B members, do not participate in Social Security, so they earn no Social Security benefit from TRSL-covered work. Plan B, which covers some school food service workers, contributes the old-age portion of Social Security. Any benefit a Regular Plan member receives must come from other covered jobs or from a spouse's record.

Does the Social Security Fairness Act change my TRSL pension?

No. TRSL states that your TRSL benefit was not reduced by the federal offsets and is not affected by their repeal. The Fairness Act changed only your Social Security payments. Because it applies to benefits payable after December 2023, your own Social Security benefit from other work, and any spousal or survivor benefit, is no longer reduced because you receive a TRSL pension.

Can I get Social Security spousal or survivor benefits with a TRSL pension?

Yes. Before the Fairness Act, the Government Pension Offset cut spousal and survivor benefits by two-thirds of a non-covered pension, which often wiped them out for TRSL retirees. That offset no longer applies to benefits payable after December 2023. If your spouse has a Social Security record, you may now qualify for a spousal benefit or, as a widow or widower, a survivor benefit.

Does TRSL give retirees a COLA every year?

No. TRSL pays a permanent benefit increase, its version of a COLA, only when the TRSL Board recommends it, the Louisiana Legislature approves it, and the Experience Account has enough money. Increases are paid July 1 on a capped portion of the benefit. According to TRSL's history, the most recent increase was 2% in 2022, with none from 2023 through 2025.

Who is eligible for a TRSL permanent benefit increase?

Under TRSL rules, by July 1 of the year the increase takes effect, a regular retiree must be at least 60 and have received a benefit for at least one year. Disability retirees qualify after one year of retirement at any age. Beneficiaries qualify after one year of benefits if the deceased member would have been 60. The increase applies only to a capped portion of the benefit.

Additional Resources

• TRSL Official Website — Member information, publications, and retirement planning
• TRSL: Social Security — TRSL's own explanation of Social Security and the Fairness Act
• TRSL: Will My Benefit Increase? — Permanent benefit increase rules and history
• TRSL: Benefits after January 2011 — Regular Plan and Plan B formulas
• SSA Social Security Fairness Act — Official SSA guidance on WEP/GPO repeal
• SSA myAccount — Check your earnings record and benefit estimates

Check your updated Social Security benefit estimate →

The Decision Kit includes:

Social Security benefit estimation worksheets for mixed covered/non-covered work histories Spousal and survivor benefit coordination guide (post-GPO) Pension and Social Security income planning Tax planning for retirement income from multiple sources

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Other state teacher pension systems:

• TRS Texas and Social Security — Texas teachers
• TRS Illinois and Social Security — Illinois teachers

Continue learning:

• Social Security for Teachers and Government Workers — How non-covered pensions and Social Security interact

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Social Security rules are complex and individual situations vary. Pension system details may change — verify with your plan administrator. Consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance. Benefora is not affiliated with the Social Security Administration or any state pension system.