Work for a State or local agency--including a school system, college or university--may or may not be covered by Social Security. If you are covered only by your State or local pension plan and you don't pay Social Security taxes, your earnings won't be on your Social Security record. (Your record will show your Medicare wages if you pay into that program.)

If your agency is covered by both your State/local pension plan and Social Security, you pay Social Security and Medicare taxes just as you would for any other Social Security-covered job. You will see your earnings on your record.

For information on how your pension from noncovered State or local employment may affect the amount of your Social Security benefit, see the Social Security Administration’s fact sheet, Windfall Elimination Provision, or see How the Windfall Elimination Provision Can Affect Your Social Security Benefit.

For more information, you also might want to see how State and local government employees became covered by Social Security.