Texas Lawmakers Advance "13th Check" For Retired Teachers
Maybe your like
The Best of the Tribune in your Inbox
Keep tabs on Texas politics and policy with our morning newsletter.
Sign up Close Search for: Search Close Skip to contentAbout
Corrections and Clarifications
About The Texas Tribune | Staff | Contact | Send a Confidential Tip | Ethics | Republish Our Work | Jobs | Awards | Corrections | Strategic Plan | Downloads | Documents
Our reporting on all platforms will be truthful, transparent and respectful; our facts will be accurate, complete and fairly presented. When we make a mistake — and from time to time, we will — we will work quickly to fully address the error, correcting it within the story, detailing the error on the story page and adding it to this running list of Tribune corrections. If you find an error, email [email protected].
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
After months of political wrangling, the Texas House has advanced a bill that could give retired teachers, counselors and other school staff a one-time payment of up to $2,400.
Senate Bill 7, which would give retired teachers in the Texas Retirement System of Texas a supplemental payment to offset cost-of-living increases, won preliminary approval Friday in the House. It is expected to move to the governor’s desk after getting final approval in the House during this year’s second special legislative session.
SB 7 had also been filed during the first special legislative session, but stalled after House Democrats broke quorum and went to Washington, D.C., to block passage of the GOP’s priority elections bill.
“Our public education employees should not have to choose between food or going to the doctor,” state Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Graford, said. “This extra check will make a huge difference in many of their lives.
“Providing for our retirees is not just about their career benefits, it’s about showing current educators and [future] educators that the state will be there for them.”
The bill had become a political cudgel as the Democrats remained in Washington through the beginning of the second special session. Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of leaving retired school staffers hanging in the balance with their retirement checks.
This bill effectively provides the supplemental payments to all educators in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas who stopped working before this year. The payment has been dubbed a “13th check” — an addition to retired teachers’ monthly pension checks.
Tens of thousands of Texas educators are eligible to receive this extra stipend.
Democrats, however, have pushed back on the Republican narrative that they are to blame for the delayed passage of the bill.
Many pointed to this year’s regular session of the Legislature, when a House bill was proposed that would have provided a similar extra payment for retired educators. House Bill 3507, which Rogers authored, also never made it to a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber after it passed through a committee.
Many Republicans at the time cited a lack of state funds as the reason to not put the bipartisan bill, which had more than 100 co-authors, for a vote. According to the state, SB 7 would cost $701.1 million.
“There was a substantial increase in available funds from the [regular sessions] to now,” Rogers said on the House floor, explaining why the Republican had a change of heart. “With this extra funding, we are much more positioned to find a 13th check now than in the general session.”
In May, toward the end of the regular legislative session, the Texas comptroller’s office issued a revised review estimate to say Texas was in position to have “continued economic growth through the next biennium,” amid the pandemic. Originally, a grimmer picture had been painted.
Despite the political jockeying, the plan of giving teachers an extra check has enjoyed relatively strong support from both parties. It passed in the Texas Senate with a 29-0 vote.
The few detractors of the bill have argued less against the extra payment and more for structural changes to the pension system for retired educators.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers, the union for educators, has argued for a permanent cost-of-living increase instead of a one-time payment. Retired teachers in Texas have not received a cost-of-living increase since 2013.
“[SB 7 is] a much needed step for immediate relief; [but] a cost-of-living increase in the near future is desperately needed,” the union wrote in a statement after the vote.
“Most retired educators in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas haven’t received a pension increase in more than 16 years. TRS is in the financial situation to offer a cost-of-living increase (COLA), and many state lawmakers are generally supportive of the idea, but legislators driving the state budget want to look at a COLA in the 2023 session,” the union wrote in a separate statement.
State lawmakers visited this issue in 2019, when they punted on a cost-of-living adjustment and instead gave a one-time payment to educators of $2,000. The cost-of-living increase has been of particular importance to the teachers union because most educators in Texas do not participate in Social Security and have the TRS pension as their lone source of income upon retirement.
Disclosure: Texas AFT has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Join us Sept. 20-25 at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival. Tickets are on sale now for this multi-day celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the day’s news, curated by The Texas Tribune’s award-winning journalists. Learn more.
Correction, Aug. 29, 2021, 9:36 a.m. Central: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the lead author of House Bill 3507. The author was state Rep. Glenn Rogers, not Rep. Vikki Goodwin.
Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.
You've read article this month. You have unlimited free articles remaining because we don't have a paywall.
Texans need the truth. Help us report it.
Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?
Support Independent Texas News
Become a member. Join today.
Choose an amount or learn more about membership.
$18 $20 $25 Other Donate NowYou've read articles this month. You have unlimited free articles remaining because we don't have a paywall.
Texans need the truth. Help us report it.
Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?
Support Independent Texas News
Become a member. Join today.
Choose an amount or learn more about membership.
$18 $20 $25 Other Donate Now
Kevin ReynoldsReporting Fellow
[email protected]- x
Kevin Reynolds is a senior at Southern Methodist University and a fall Austin reporting fellow. Kevin has worked as a fellow at The Dallas Morning News, where he wrote features and covered education. He... More by Kevin Reynolds
READ MORE
Two CBP agents identified in Alex Pretti shooting are from South Texas
Feb. 1, 2026
5-year-old Liam Ramos and his dad released from detention in Texas
Feb. 1, 2026
Democrat Taylor Rehmet wins solidly red Texas Senate seat in stunning special election upset
Jan. 30, 2026Jan. 31, 2026, 11:17 p.m. Central
Houston Democrat Christian Menefee wins special election to complete Sylvester Turner’s term in Congress
Jan. 31, 2026
Understanding Texas’ big investment in dementia research
Dec. 22, 2025Jan. 21, 2026, 11:48 a.m. Central January 21, 2026 View More Eventslatest from our reporters
Talarico began 2026 with bigger war chest than Crockett in Democratic Senate primary awash in cash
by Kayla Guo and Gabby Birenbaum Jan. 31, 2026Texas’ long love affair with wrestling could be getting serious
by Jayme Lozano Carver Jan. 31, 2026Cornyn continues to lead Texas Senate GOP field in fundraising, cash reserves as primary hits homestretch
by Gabby Birenbaum Jan. 31, 2026Texas lawmakers: Cannabis is here to stay. And we will regulate the market in 2027.
by Stephen Simpson and Alejandro Serrano Jan. 31, 2026Judge orders 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his dad released from detention in Texas
by Associated Press Jan. 31, 2026Texas has stopped state agencies and universities from filing new H-1B visa applications. Here’s what that means.
by Carlos Nogueras Ramos and Aidan Johnstone Jan. 31, 2026Hundreds of Texas public school students walk out to protest ICE killings
by Ayden Runnels Jan. 30, 2026Texas A&M eliminates women’s and gender studies degree program
by Jessica Priest Jan. 30, 2026Jan. 30, 2026, 5:05 p.m. CentralDan Patrick lists property tax cuts, preventing Sharia law among priorities for 2027 session
by Kayla Guo Jan. 30, 2026Texas Education Agency moves to correct 4,200 errors in Bible-infused curriculum
by Jaden Edison Jan. 30, 2026Link Copy link
Tag » When Will Trs 13th Check Be Paid
-
TRS Retirees To Receive 13th Check By Mid-September
-
TRS Members Set To Receive 13th Check January 14 - Texas AFT
-
One-time Supplemental Payment FAQs - TRS
-
Annuity Payment Schedule - TRS
-
Hoho - Facebook
-
TRS Authorizes 13th Check For Retirees, To Be Paid In Fall Of 2019
-
[PDF] TRS 86TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE WRAP UP
-
13th Check To Retired Teachers Will Be Issued In January 2022
-
Where's Our 13th Checks? TPEA's Ann Bishop Responds TPEA Blog
-
Payroll Schedule | Teachers' Retirement System Of The State Of Illinois
-
Retired Texas Teachers' 13th Check At Center Of Legislative Shouting ...
-
Your Monthly Benefit Payment – TRSGA
-
13th Payment - IMRF
-
Retired Texas Teachers Haven't Received A Cost-of-living Raise Since ...