STRS Ohio and Social Security: What Ohio Teachers Need to Know (2026)

Last Updated: March 28, 2026

Most Ohio public school teachers are members of STRS Ohio — the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio — and do not pay into Social Security from teaching. Ohio is one of the states with the highest concentration of workers affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) nationally. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, permanently eliminated both provisions for STRS Ohio's approximately 543,000 active and retired educators.

This guide explains what changed, what the STRS Ohio benefit and COLA structure means for your broader retirement plan, and the steps to take now.

Check your updated Social Security benefit estimate →

The Two-System Picture: STRS Ohio and Social Security

STRS Ohio is one of the largest teacher pension systems in the country, managing more than $96 billion in assets and paying out approximately $7.6 billion in total benefits annually to retirees and beneficiaries. (Source: STRS Ohio Summary Annual Financial Report 2024.) STRS Ohio does not publish an average monthly benefit figure, but the scale of total payments across its retiree population gives a clear picture of the system's significance in Ohio teachers' financial lives.

Because STRS Ohio does not participate in Social Security, Ohio teachers in STRS-covered positions:

• Do not have Social Security (OASDI) withheld from teaching paychecks
• Do not build Social Security credits from teaching employment
• Do receive a defined-benefit STRS Ohio pension calculated on years of service and final average salary

Before January 2025, Ohio teachers who also had Social Security-covered work faced significant benefit reductions. Ohio's concentration in the WEP/GPO-affected population — one of nine states accounting for roughly 60% of all affected beneficiaries nationally — meant a large share of STRS members were impacted.

What the Fairness Act Means for STRS Ohio Members

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced Social Security retirement benefits for STRS members who had worked in SS-covered jobs at any point. Even if you earned meaningful SS credits from covered employment — a prior career, summer work, part-time jobs — WEP applied a less favorable formula and could reduce your monthly SS check by up to $587 (2024 cap).

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduced Social Security spousal and survivor benefits by $2 for every $3 of your STRS Ohio pension. For a teacher receiving a $3,500/month STRS pension, GPO would have cut spousal benefits by approximately $2,333/month, eliminating them almost entirely in most scenarios.

Both provisions are permanently eliminated, effective January 2024.

What this means for STRS Ohio members:

• Any SS retirement benefit you earned from covered employment now pays at full value — no WEP reduction
• Spousal and survivor benefits on a spouse's SS record are now fully accessible — no GPO reduction for your STRS pension
• Benefits are already adjusted: SSA processed automatic increases starting February 25, 2025

For the full legal background, see our Social Security Fairness Act guide and Government Pension Offset history.

Retroactive Payments: What Ohio Teachers May Be Owed

The Fairness Act retroactivity begins January 1, 2024. The SSA issued automatic benefit adjustments and lump-sum retroactive payments starting February 25, 2025.

If you were receiving Social Security benefits reduced by WEP or GPO, you should have received:

• A permanent monthly increase equal to the previously-applied reduction
• A lump-sum payment covering January 2024 through your first adjusted payment date

Nationally, the SSA reported an average restoration of approximately $360/month. For STRS Ohio members whose GPO had eliminated entire spousal or survivor benefit streams, the increase may be substantially larger.

To verify: Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount and check your current benefit amount and payment history. If you believe you qualify and haven't seen an adjustment, contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

STRS Ohio COLA: Discretionary, Not Automatic

STRS Ohio's cost-of-living adjustment is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — aspects of the system. Unlike Social Security, which provides an automatic annual COLA tied to the CPI, STRS Ohio's COLA requires a Board vote each year and is not guaranteed.

Recent Board decisions:

• FY 2024 (effective July 1, 2023): 1% COLA approved
• FY 2026 (effective July 1, 2025): 1.5% COLA approved — eligible recipients are those who began receiving benefits on or before June 1, 2021
• FY 2027 (effective July 1, 2026): 1.6% COLA approved

Source: STRS Ohio COLA FAQ

Eligibility restriction: STRS Ohio's COLA requires a minimum of 5 years post-retirement before you become eligible for any COLA. Teachers who retired recently may be waiting several years before COLA applies to their benefit.

The contrast with Social Security is stark. The 2026 Social Security COLA is 2.5%, applied automatically to your entire SS benefit. By contrast, STRS Ohio's COLA is 1–1.5% applied only to a portion of your benefit (those meeting the 5-year threshold), requiring a Board vote to exist at all. In years where the Board does not approve a COLA, STRS retirees receive no increase.

This volatility makes your Social Security benefit — if you have one — a more stable and predictable inflation hedge than your STRS pension alone. See how COLA compounds over time →.

STRS Ohio's funded ratio is currently approximately 57%, which has driven significant governance attention and affects the system's capacity to sustain benefit improvements over time. More at strsoh.org/about/strs-ohio-at-a-glance.html.

The 40-Quarter Requirement: What STRS Ohio Doesn't Provide

STRS Ohio membership does not build Social Security credits. To receive a Social Security retirement benefit of your own, you need 40 quarters (10 years) of Social Security-covered employment at some point in your working life.

Many Ohio teachers have some covered employment: work before entering teaching, part-time jobs, work in SS-covered school districts, or employment in states where teaching is SS-covered. Each such period built SS credits that now pay at full value.

If you worked your entire career in STRS Ohio-covered positions with no other covered employment, you have no Social Security benefit. The Fairness Act does not change that. Your STRS pension is your retirement income from public employment.

Check your record: Visit ssa.gov/myaccount. Your earnings record shows every year of covered employment. Any year in a non-covered STRS position will show zero SS earnings. Any covered year will show the wages subject to SS tax.

See how Social Security benefits are calculated for how partial covered earnings histories translate into monthly benefit amounts.

Claiming Strategy When You Have Both STRS Ohio and Social Security

For STRS Ohio members with both a pension and Social Security eligibility, the discretionary nature of STRS Ohio's COLA makes timing decisions especially consequential:

Delay Social Security to 70 if possible. Given that STRS Ohio's COLA is uncertain year-to-year, your Social Security benefit may be the only inflation-adjusted income stream you'll have in retirement. Delaying to 70 increases your benefit by approximately 76% compared to claiming at 62. That higher base then receives automatic annual COLA for the rest of your life.

Survivor benefit consideration for married couples. The higher earner's claiming age determines what the surviving spouse inherits. If your spouse has a larger Social Security benefit and delays to 70, your survivor benefit — should they die first — is based on that larger amount plus all accumulated COLAs. Claiming early permanently lowers that floor.

With GPO eliminated, STRS Ohio members who were previously ineligible for spousal or survivor benefits may now have new options. A teacher whose entire SS spousal benefit was offset by GPO now receives it in full.

See our coordinated claiming strategy for married couples.

Steps to Take Now

1. Log in to ssa.gov/myaccount — Review your earnings record. Confirm how many covered years you have. Check your updated benefit estimate with WEP removed.

2. Check your STRS Ohio pension estimate — Use the STRS Ohio benefit estimator to see projected pension amounts at different retirement ages.

3. If married, model both records — With GPO gone, spousal benefit options have changed for STRS Ohio members. Model a coordinated claiming strategy before filing. Use our spousal benefits calculator.

4. If widowed, review survivor eligibility — If GPO previously reduced your survivor benefit, contact the SSA. The repeal is retroactive to January 2024.

5. Consider the STRS COLA trajectory — Factor the discretionary, unpredictable nature of STRS Ohio's COLA into your income planning. If your STRS pension may not keep pace with inflation consistently, Social Security timing matters more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Ohio teachers get Social Security?

Most Ohio public school teachers in STRS Ohio-covered positions do not pay into Social Security from teaching and don't build SS credits from that employment. Any Social Security earned from other covered jobs is fully preserved and, since January 2025, is no longer reduced by WEP. Teachers with no covered employment outside STRS Ohio have no Social Security benefit of their own.

Is STRS Ohio COLA guaranteed every year?

No. STRS Ohio's COLA requires a Board vote each year. There is no automatic annual increase. Recent years have seen 1–1.5% COLAs, but the Board can approve a lower amount or no COLA at all. Additionally, you must be at least 5 years past retirement before becoming eligible. This is fundamentally different from Social Security's automatic, legally mandated annual COLA.

Can I claim Social Security spousal benefits with an STRS Ohio pension?

Yes, as of January 2025. The GPO repeal eliminated the offset that had reduced spousal and survivor benefits for STRS Ohio teachers. If your spouse has a Social Security record and you meet eligibility requirements (married 1+ year, age 62+), you can now receive the full spousal benefit without any reduction for your STRS Ohio pension.

What is STRS Ohio's funded ratio and should I be concerned?

STRS Ohio's funded ratio is approximately 57%, meaning the system holds assets to cover about 57 cents of every dollar of future benefit obligations. The system has been actively working to improve this ratio. Current retirees and vested members retain their benefits regardless of funding status — Ohio law protects accrued benefits. However, the funding situation is a relevant factor in understanding the system's capacity to approve future COLAs and benefit improvements.

Additional Resources

• STRS Ohio Official Website — Member portal, benefit estimates, retirement planning
• STRS Ohio At a Glance — Current system statistics
• STRS Ohio COLA FAQ — Official COLA eligibility and history
• SSA Social Security Fairness Act — Official SSA guidance on WEP/GPO elimination
• TeacherPensions.org — Ohio — Independent analysis of STRS Ohio benefit structure
• SSA myAccount — Check your SS 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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Continue learning:

• Social Security Fairness Act 2025 — Complete law breakdown
• Social Security for Teachers and Government Workers — All 12 non-covered states
• Government Pension Offset: Full Background — WEP and GPO history
• Coordinated Claiming for Married Couples — Household strategy