Teachers · Public Employees
All 50 states + DC. See your monthly pension, whether Social Security applies to you, how a COLA grows your income over time, and exactly when you hit full retirement. Free, no sign-up.
Your teacher pension breakdown
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Select your state, enter your years of service, current salary, and age. The calculator looks up your state's actual pension plan — including the benefit multiplier, vesting period, Social Security coverage status, and COLA policy — and computes your estimated monthly pension at your current trajectory plus at five milestone years: 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of service.
If your state doesn't cover teachers under Social Security and you have SS earnings from other work, the calculator also estimates your Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduction — the hidden benefit cut that surprises thousands of retiring teachers every year.
Almost every state teacher pension uses the same three-variable formula. Understanding each component is the key to projecting your retirement income accurately.
A percentage per year of service set by your state's retirement system. Common values range from 1.4% to 2.5%. A 2.0% multiplier means each year you teach is worth 2% of your Final Average Salary — forever. After 30 years, that's 60% of FAS.
The total number of qualifying years you've taught in the state's retirement system. Part-time service typically counts at a proportional rate. Years in other states usually don't transfer without a reciprocity agreement.
Your average salary over your highest-earning years — typically the last 3 or 5 years, or the highest 3 of your last 10 years, depending on state. This is the figure your entire pension multiplies against, so salary spikes in your final years have an outsized impact on your benefit.
Example calculation
A Texas teacher with a 2.3% multiplier, 28 years of service, and a $72,000 Final Average Salary: 2.3% × 28 × $72,000 = $46,368/year ($3,864/month). Texas TRS does not offer a COLA, so that $3,864 stays flat in nominal dollars for the rest of their life.
If you teach in a state that doesn't participate in Social Security — California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and about 12 others — and you've also worked jobs where you paid Social Security taxes (summers, second jobs, prior careers), WEP will reduce your Social Security check at retirement. The maximum reduction in 2026 is $587/month.
The reduction is calculated based on how many years of "substantial earnings" you have under Social Security. Fewer years of SS earnings means a larger WEP reduction. With 30 or more years of substantial Social Security earnings, WEP disappears entirely.
20+ SS years
Reduced WEP
Still reduces your check but by less than the maximum
< 20 SS years
Full WEP hit
Up to $587/month reduction off your SS benefit
30+ SS years
WEP eliminated
WEP does not apply — you receive your full SS benefit
A Cost of Living Adjustment compounds silently over a long retirement. The difference between a 2% annual COLA and no COLA on a $3,000/month pension after 25 years of retirement is roughly $1,500/month — the COLA pension pays $4,900 while the flat pension still pays $3,000. Our calculator shows this divergence at 5, 10, and 20-year intervals.
No COLA
Pension stays flat in dollar terms forever. Purchasing power erodes with inflation.
Examples: Texas, Ohio, many others
Fixed COLA
Pension grows by a set percentage (e.g., 2%) each year regardless of actual inflation.
Examples: California (2%), some others
CPI-linked COLA
Pension grows with actual inflation, capped at a maximum (e.g., 3%). Best protection against high inflation.
Examples: Colorado, Wisconsin, others
Most state teacher pensions use the same core formula: Multiplier × Years of Service × Final Average Salary. The multiplier is a percentage set by your state's retirement system — typically between 1.4% and 2.5% per year of service. Final Average Salary (FAS) is usually your average pay over your last 3–5 years of teaching. A teacher in a state with a 2.0% multiplier who works 30 years with a $65,000 FAS would receive 60% of $65,000 = $39,000 per year, or $3,250 per month.
WEP reduces Social Security benefits for workers who receive a pension from employment not covered by Social Security — which includes teachers in about 15 states. The maximum WEP reduction in 2026 is $587 per month. The actual reduction depends on your years of "substantial earnings" under Social Security and the size of your pension. Our calculator shows your estimated WEP impact if you have Social Security earnings from other work.
As of 2026, teachers in the following states do not pay Social Security taxes on their teaching income and may be subject to WEP: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas. Some districts within other states may also be exempt. If you've worked non-teaching jobs and paid Social Security taxes, those earnings still count toward your benefit — but WEP may reduce what you receive.
Vesting is the minimum number of years you must teach to be eligible for any pension benefit. Before you're vested, if you leave teaching you get back only your own contributions (sometimes without interest). After vesting, you're entitled to a pension at retirement age even if you stop teaching. Vesting periods typically range from 5 to 10 years depending on your state. Our calculator shows your vesting status and years remaining.
Teacher pensions are generally not portable between states. If you leave your state's system before retirement, you typically receive a refund of your contributions (forfeiting the employer contributions and any investment growth). Some states have reciprocity agreements that allow years of service to transfer, but these are exceptions. The practical consequence: a teacher with 8 years in Illinois who moves to Texas loses those pension credits and starts over in the Texas TRS system.
A Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) automatically increases your pension payment each year to help offset inflation. Some states offer a fixed annual COLA (e.g., 2% per year), others index to CPI (actual inflation), and many offer no COLA at all — your pension stays flat in dollar terms for life. A 2% annual COLA sounds small but compounds significantly: after 20 years of retirement, your pension is worth 49% more than without a COLA. Our calculator shows 5, 10, and 20-year projections with your state's COLA applied.
Yes — and you should. Most school districts offer access to a 403(b) plan (the public-sector equivalent of a 401(k)), and many offer a 457(b) as well. Unlike private-sector 401(k)s, you can contribute to both a 403(b) and a 457(b) simultaneously, each with its own contribution limit. This lets teachers with access to both plans shelter significantly more income than a private-sector employee. The 2026 403(b) limit matches the 401(k) limit.
For teachers who complete a full career in one state, the defined-benefit pension often provides better income than a 401(k) would — because the benefit is guaranteed, COLA-adjusted, and employer-funded contributions are typically generous. The tradeoff: pensions punish mobility and early departure severely, while a 401(k) is fully portable. Teachers who leave before vesting or move states frequently may actually be worse off with a pension than they would have been with a 401(k) and employer match.