You may transfer the amount of your outstanding QPP loan if you are transferring your membership to one of the following retirement systems: the New York City Board of Education Retirement System; the New York City Employees' Retirement System; the New York State Teachers' Retirement System; or the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System. In addition, if you are transferring your membership to the Board of Education Retirement System, you may transfer your outstanding TDA loan balance. The other retirement systems previously mentioned currently do not maintain a TDA loan program; therefore, your TDA loan balance cannot be transferred.

If your loan is not fully repaid within five years, it is considered in default, and TRS would ask you to make a lump-sum repayment within 30 days. If you do not repay the amount within 30 days, the loan would become a taxable distribution and would be reported to the IRS. If you are not in active service, your loan would also go into default after you miss three scheduled monthly payments or, if you are a Tier I or II member with a QPP loan, after you miss one quarterly payment. If a TDA loan goes into default, tax consequences may include an IRS-imposed 10% penalty and an additional 20% withholding applied to any TDA funds you receive later that year.

The IRS sets limits on the disbursement of accounts after a participant’s death. Generally, TDA accounts must be entirely disbursed by the end of the calendar year that includes the 10^th anniversary of the member’s death. Any portion of the TDA account that is payable to a non-individual (i.e., trust, estate, or organization) must be entirely disbursed by the end of the calendar year that includes the 5^th anniversary of the member’s death.

Similar timeframes may be applied for QPP death benefits. In all cases, TRS works to distribute death benefits as quickly as possible upon receiving completed claims and supporting information from claimants.

As a TRS member, you can take advantage of two retirement plans under one roof: first, the guaranteed plan known as the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP); and second, our popular Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Program. Benefits Summary explains more.

 

Your First Steps

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Make Benefits in Brief the first place you go for TRS information. This booklet introduces you to TRS, summarizes your benefits, and describes key membership information. There’s a wealth of information elsewhere on our website—just use the Search feature, located at the top of any page, to learn about specific topics.

Log in to the secure area of our website. You can register by setting up a username (user ID) and password. Then, you can see your account information, enroll in our TDA Program, designate beneficiaries, and more! (In some cases, you may not be able to register until your first pension contribution is deducted from your pay.)

Watch our video for new members. TRS has created a video to introduce you to TRS, your retirement system. Watch now and share with a friend.

 

Your Next Steps

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Once you are registered for secure access, you can log in and:

• Designate your beneficiaries under the QPP;
• Upload proof of your date of birth; and
• Tell us if you have been a member of another retirement system in New York State.

These simple steps will complete your enrollment in TRS.

You also have the opportunity to participate in the Tax-Deferred Annuity Program, our supplementary investment program. Two-thirds of your fellow members have enrolled, and we hope you will consider doing the same after learning more and reading the Your Tax-Deferred Annuity Program.

The cost varies depending on your tier and the type of service credit you are purchasing. In certain cases, service credit may not require purchase.

If you are a Tier III or IV member, the cost to purchase service credit reflects the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP) contributions that you would have made had the service been performed as a TRS member. If you are covered under the basic retirement plan, your QPP contribution rate is generally 3%; if you are covered under the Age 55 Retirement Program, your contribution rate is generally 4.85%.

If you are a Tier VI member, the cost to purchase service credit is 6% of the salary you earned during the time the service was performed.

For most service credit purchases, 5% annual interest is applied to the cost; this represents the interest that would have accrued on your contributions had you been contributing at the time the service was performed. Interest is generally calculated from the date(s) your service was performed to the date your payment is due.

Note: For Tier I and II members, there may be no cost for optional service credit. However, this depends on the type of service (e.g., for Tier I members, there is a cost for outside teaching service, determined through actuarial calculations).

Below is a summary of the benefits of membership in TRS:

Service Retirement Allowances

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TRS' Qualified Pension Plan (QPP) is a retirement plan administered under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our members' employers contribute the amount required to meet TRS' pension benefit obligation. And, in order to help fund their retirement allowances, members must also contribute to their QPP account. The amount of these contributions depends on a member's tier and other membership factors. Members become eligible to receive a service retirement allowance upon meeting requirements for service credit and age.

TDA Participation

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In addition to earning a retirement allowance through the Qualified Pension Plan, members may build their personal savings through participation in TRS' Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Program.

The TDA Program, established under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, is a supplemental retirement plan. Participation lowers current taxable income, and taxes are deferred on contributions and accumulated earnings.

Loans

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Loans are available to members under both the Qualified Pension Plan and the Tax-Deferred Annuity Program.

Members may borrow as much as $50,000; the maximum amount depends on the amount of the member's TRS funds and the amount of any balances outstanding on TRS loans and other employer-sponsored loan programs (such as the New York City Deferred Compensation Plan).

Disability Coverage

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Disability retirement coverage is available to in-service members and to members on an official leave of absence. To be eligible for an ordinary disability retirement, members must meet certain service requirements. These requirements are waived for members whose disability meets the criteria for an accident disability retirement.

Death Benefits

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Members who have at least one year of service since last joining TRS are eligible for death benefit coverage under the Qualified Pension Plan. Separate death benefit coverage is provided to participants in the Tax-Deferred Annuity Program.

At retirement, members may elect a payment option for their retirement allowance that will provide a benefit for one or more beneficiaries. Post-retirement death benefits are also available for TDA Program accounts.

Members must provide the following to TRS:

Members must provide the following to TRS:

The Passport Funds are TRS' lineup of investment choices. They are available to all in-service members and retirees under the TDA Program, and Tier I and II in-service members and retirees under the QPP. The Passport Funds provide the following investment offerings:

• Fixed Return Fund
• Diversified Equity Fund
• Balanced Fund^
• International Equity Fund
• Sustainable Equity Fund
• U.S. Equity Index Fund
• International Equity Index Fund

The Fixed Return Fund provides participants with a fixed rate of return, in accordance with applicable laws. The returns on the other six funds fluctuate monthly, so these are known as the "variable-return" Passport Funds.

^The Balanced Fund began as of January 1, 2018 and was preceded by the Bond Fund from 2012-2017 and the Stable-Value Fund before 2012.

See the following FAQs for brief descriptions of the Passport Funds. For more comprehensive information, read TRS' Fund Profiles

If you have vested rights when you leave service, any QPP loan balance would remain outstanding and would continue to accumulate interest. You would have the option of repaying the outstanding loan balance in a lump sum within 30 days or electing to make monthly payments directly to TRS. An outstanding TDA loan balance would be considered a taxable distribution and would be reported to the IRS unless you maintain your loan by electing TDA Deferral status; you may do so by filing a TDA Deferral Status Election Form (for vested members) (code TD31).