In October, many TRS members will receive a lump-sum retroactive payment under the United Federation of Teachers’ collective bargaining agreement. Often, members receiving such a payment choose to increase their TDA contribution rate in advance, because the additional pay provides a rare opportunity to make a large one-time deposit into their TDA Program account.

The retroactive payment is scheduled for the October 16 payroll. So, if you want to increase your TDA contribution rate in advance, TRS must receive your election by this Saturday, September 16. (This deadline was extended to Thursday, September 21 at 9:00 AM.)

To change your TDA contribution rate, log in to the secure section of our website. Rate changes always take effect on the next available payroll, and the online "Change Rate" feature displays which payroll that will be.

Remember, your new TDA contribution rate will remain in effect until you change it, so you'll probably want to make another online rate change in time for the following payroll.

The general TDA contribution limit for 2017 is $18,000, but exceptions apply. For more information, please review our TDA Program Summary.

United Federation of Teachers members who retired on or after July 1, 2014 are scheduled to receive a retroactive payment in October as part of their union’s collective bargaining agreement.

For UFT members who retired in 2017, TDA contributions will be taken from that payment. (Normally, retirees cannot contribute to their TDA accounts; however, contributions taken from payroll are permitted in the year of retirement.)

For these retirees, TDA contributions will be taken at the same contribution rate that was in effect when they retired. Members who want this contribution returned to them may request a refund from TRS.

This year's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retirees will be 1.2%, effective with the September 2017 retirement allowance payments. This adjustment is calculated on the lesser of the retiree's maximum fixed retirement allowance or $18,000.

The COLA is provided to service retirees who are at least age 62 and have been retired for at least 5 years, service retirees who are at least age 55 and have been retired for at least 10 years, and certain disability retirees and surviving spouses.

We have posted the 2017-2018 edition of the TRS Membership for CUNY Employees brochure. It contains handy information about TRS benefits and resources for new CUNY employees. Since many CUNY employees can choose between TRS or TIAA for their retirement plan provider, the brochure also includes a side-by-side comparison of both retirement programs.

Account statements for the period ending June 30, 2017 are now available for online viewing in the secure section of our website.

The Quarterly Account Statement (QAS), for in-service members and certain members on leave, summarizes account information for members' Qualified Pension Plan and, if applicable, Tax-Deferred Annuity Program accounts.

The TDA Quarterly Statement, for members with TDA Deferral status, summarizes TDA account information for members who are maintaining a TDA account after retirement (or, in some cases, resignation).

Printed statements have been mailed to members' home addresses. If you currently receive your quarterly statements in the mail, consider opting out of the mailing and viewing the statement online instead. To change your mailing preference, select My Profile after logging in to the secure section of our website. To ensure that you receive emails from TRS, please add noreply@trs.nyc.ny.us to your address book.

We have posted an updated edition of our Spring 2017 In-Service News and Benefits Report newsletters. This edition corrects errors that previously appeared on page 2 of each newsletter and on page 2 of the insert about the upcoming Balanced Fund. We regret these errors. On the Newsletters page, you can view the corrected Spring 2017 issues or choose an issue from our archives dating back to 2011.

Qualifying members who worked in the World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery, or Cleanup Operations between September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2002 may file a Notice of Participation (code DI40) with TRS. Beneficiaries of qualifying members who died without having filed this form may file the beneficiary version of the Notice of Participation (code DI40b). TRS must now receive the Notice of Participation and, if applicable, an Authorization for Release of Health-Related Information (code DI47) by September 11, 2018.

Please see the World Trade Center Presumptive Disability and Death Benefit Laws information sheet for a list of qualifying conditions or impairments of health and other important information.