Retirement

Social Security & Medicare


The University of Alaska withdrew from participation in Social Security in 1982.  This may affect your Social Security earnings/retirement. In most cases, while you are an employee at UA, you will not pay into Social Security. There are some exceptions to this for certain temporary employees.  All employees are required to participate in the Medicare portion of social security. 

No Social Security while working at UA in a benefit-eligible position
The University withdrew from Social Security on January 1, 1982. PERS, TRS, and ORP are all considered full replacements of Social Security.

For more information, please review the Statement Concerning Your Employment in a Job Not Covered by Social Security.

Temporary Employees and Social Security
Some temporary employees may need to pay into social security. This will depend on the temporary employee's age at hire and their ability to immediately access vested funds from and alternative retirement plan such as PERS, TRS, or ORP. 

Employee Status Dates Worked Current or Former PERS/TRS/ORP Participant? Participates in Social Security?
Temporary employee After retirement age Yes No
Temporary employee Before retirement age Yes Yes
Temporary employee After retirement age No Yes
Temporary employee Before retirement age No Yes
Benefit eligible employee Before 1982 Yes Yes
Benefit-eligible employee After 1982 Yes No

The Windfall Elimination Program (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) were both repealed by the signing of the Social Security Fairness Act of 2024. The information below is for historical purposes only. For more information, please review the Social Security update.

When you work in a job not covered by Social Security, your future Social Security benefits could be affected.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) applies if you earned retirement (such as PERS, TRS or ORP) in any job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit. TIAA has partnered with UA to provide an informational flyer on the WEP.

For more more information on the WEP, please contact the Social Security Administration through their website.

The Government Pension Offset (GPO) applies to your spouse or widow/widower benefits if you receive retirement (PERS, TRS or ORP) from a government job where you were not covered by Social Security. For more information on the GOP, please contact the Social Security Administration through their website.

All employees contribute to the Medicare portion of Social Security with few exceptions
All employees hired after March 31, 1986, are required to contribute to the Medicare portion of Social Security. For specific Medicare questions, please contact the Medicare Office through their website.