Contribution Rate Change

Your contribution rate is the percentage of your income you wish to allocate to your TDA Program account(s). For the traditional TDA, contributions are deducted from your gross pay (before tax) and reduce your current taxable income. Roth account contributions are taken from your net (after-tax) pay.

Your current rate is displayed.

Each year the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) establishes a contribution limit for Section 403(b) and 401(k) Plans. Your personal contribution limit for the current year is displayed on the screen. Contributions to either TDA Program account and any external 403(b) or 401(k) plans cannot exceed this amount. TRS can monitor your contributions for your TRS accounts but not for any external accounts. In general, TRS contributions will stop being deducted from your paychecks when your contributions reach the applicable limits; but, if you have external 403(b) or 401(k) accounts, you must ensure your aggregated contributions for the year do not exceed IRC limits.

Your annual contribution limit may also reflect “catch-up” contributions that are permitted under certain conditions. Age-based catch-up contributions are permitted for members who are aged 50 and older. Service-based catch-up contributions are permitted for certain members with 15 years of qualifying service. (Note: For certain high earners who are 50 or over, any age-based catch-up contributions must be made to a Roth account.) Details about the limits and rules are available in the Your Tax-Deferred Annuity Program brochure.

Change Rate

Click the green “Change Rate” button to change your current contribution rate.

Contribution Rate Change

Your contribution limits for the current year are displayed at the top of the screen.

You can see your Current Rate in the column on the left. Enter a New Rate between 1.0% and 99.9% in the right-hand column. If you would like to cancel your contribution, enter 0% for the New Rate and check the corresponding option.

Select Option

Select one of the three contribution options listed: ongoing, future-ongoing, or one-time.

  • If you elect an ongoing contribution rate, it will generally take effect on the first payroll that occurs 30 days after TRS receives your request and continue until you make a change to it. The effective date is displayed.
  • A future-ongoing rate change is identical to an ongoing rate change but you must pick a date in the future for it to become effective.
  • You must select a date for your one-time contribution rate. After that single contribution, the rate will revert to the previous rate that was in effect.

If you elect a new contribution rate for an ongoing election, it will supersede any previously elected ongoing contribution rate.

If you would like to change your existing future-ongoing or one-time contribution, click the orange "Cancel" button to return to the main Contribution Rate screen to cancel your current elections. Then update your future-ongoing and one-time options. When choosing a date(s), only eligible payroll dates display highlighted in gray. Dates previously selected will not appear.

After selecting your contribution percentage and option, click "Next."

Change Rate Confirmation

If you are satisfied with your elections, carefully read and accept the Terms & Conditions and click “Finish.”

On the following screen you will receive a confirmation message in a green banner. You can view the details of your pending rate change: the Request Date, the Effective Date, the rate change Option you chose, and the Pending Rate %.

Click “Finish” to return to the main Rate Change page. You will receive an email confirming your rate change. You can then View or Cancel your pending rate through the Pending section of this page.