The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 ("CARES Act") is federal legislation signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The CARES Act provides easier access to retirement funds for those who are in financial need due to the pandemic and certify that:

• they have been diagnosed with COVID-19; or

• they have a spouse or dependent who was diagnosed with COVID-19; or

• they or someone in their household was financially harmed by COVID-19 due to quarantine, furlough, layoff, reduction in work hours, inability to work due to lack of child care, or closure/reduction of hours of their own business.

TRS implemented the following provisions of the CARES Act, and each is described further in the Questions & Answers below. Note: These provisions of the CARES Act expired at the end of 2020.

• TDA Withdrawals Under the CARES Act: Qualified members may apply online for a special CARES Act distribution of up to $100,000 from their Tax-Deferred Annuity Program accounts. No early withdrawal penalty will apply. Recipients have the option of spreading the distribution over three years on their tax returns, and of repaying the distribution to their TDA accounts.

• Loans Under the CARES Act: Qualified members may apply for a CARES Act loan under both TRS plans, the Qualified Pension Plan and the TDA Program. The available loan amounts are higher through these CARES Act loans (generally, up to the lesser of $100,000 or 75% of available account balances) than through the standard QPP or TDA loans. Separate CARES Act loan applications are available for members who log in to our website. Note: The higher loan amounts are not available for loans requested after September 9, 2020.

• Deferral of Loan Payments Under the CARES Act: Qualified members may defer making loan payments for a 12-month period on both new loans and existing loans. (Interest will accrue during this period.) This option is built in to the new CARES Act loan applications, and special forms are available to members who want to pause their current loan payment schedule for 12 months. Note: The deferral of loan payments is not available after December 4, 2020 for new loans and December 13, 2020 for existing loans.

• Suspension of TDA Required Minimum Distributions for 2020: The CARES Act has suspended Required Minimum Distributions for 2020 for defined-contribution plans like TRS' TDA Program. RMDs would normally be paid to certain retired members with TDA accounts and TDA Beneficiary (TDAB) members, but no distribution will be required in 2020.