In general, when you leave service, you may repay your outstanding loan balance in a lump sum within 30 days of TRS' notification. If you do not pay the balance within that timeframe: your outstanding QPP loan amount would generally be reduced from your QPP fund balances; and your outstanding TDA loan balance would be considered a taxable distribution and would be reported to the IRS. However, if you have vested rights when you leave service, you may maintain an outstanding TDA loan balance by filing a TDA Deferral Status Election Form (for vested members) (code TD31).

When you retire, any outstanding QPP or TDA loan balance would be deducted from your funds in the corresponding program, reducing the amount available for your retirement. In addition, the balance would be considered a distribution, and any taxable portion of the balance would be subject to 20% withholding. TRS would take this withholding from any subsequent cash payment made to you from the corresponding program in the same tax year. This would be a loan at retirement, and if necessary, a QPP excess withdrawal to a Tier I or II member, or a TDA withdrawal. If the withholding due were greater than the subsequent cash payment, TRS would issue you a check in a nominal amount of $10 and would take the balance of the payment towards your withholding obligation.

If you left your QPP accumulations with TRS and returned to active service before the initial payability date of your retirement allowance, you would be reappointed as an in-service TRS member with all the benefits of your former tier; your additional service credit would count toward your future retirement allowance. However, if you withdrew your QPP accumulations, your TRS membership ended when you made your withdrawal; therefore, if you later returned to active service, you would begin a new TRS membership and become part of the tier in effect when you return to service. Please note that if you return to active service after the initial payability date of your retirement allowance, your retirement allowance would stop, and your active membership would be restored.

EFT is available for other payments, as noted below.

If you are an in-service member paid on the City of New York payroll through direct deposit, you may elect to receive QPP loans or QPP direct withdrawals via EFT in the same account where you receive your pay. You would automatically receive a TDA loan or TDA direct withdrawal via EFT, unless you elect to receive these distributions by check.

If you are a retiree with TDA Deferral status and you are receiving your retirement allowance via EFT, you would automatically receive a TDA loan and TDA direct withdrawal via EFT in the same account where you receive your benefit payments, unless you elect to receive these distributions by check. You would automatically receive a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) via EFT.

When you retire, any outstanding QPP or TDA loan balance would be deducted from your funds in the corresponding program, reducing the amount available for your retirement. In addition, the balance would be considered a distribution, and any taxable portion of the balance would be subject to 20% withholding. TRS would take this withholding from any subsequent cash payment made to you from the corresponding program in the same tax year. This would be a loan at retirement, and if necessary, a QPP excess withdrawal to a Tier I or II member, or a TDA withdrawal. If the withholding due were greater than the subsequent cash payment, TRS would issue you a check in a nominal amount of $10 and would take the balance of the payment towards your withholding obligation.

I-T-H-P stands for Increased-Take-Home Pay. The City of New York contributes 2.5% of Tier I and II members' gross salary toward their retirement allowance. This reduces the contributions that the members would have to make to the QPP and thereby increases their take-home pay. Members have the choice of waiving their ITHP, which would reduce their take-home pay, but provide them with a higher annuity benefit upon retirement. In any case, the City will make the same contribution to their ITHP account.

Members receive a Quarterly Account Statement (QAS) for each account they have with TRS. Starting in 2026, each account is reported on a separate statement.

All non-retired members will receive a QPP Account Summary each quarter, reporting activity in their pension account, the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP). The TDA Account Summary is provided quarterly to members who have a traditional TDA account in TRS’ 403(b) plan, the Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Program. Participants in the TDA Program’s Roth option will receive a Roth Account Summary each quarter.

New Quarterly Account Statements are normally posted in the secure section of TRS’ website about six weeks after the end of each quarter.

A death benefit, representing all or part of the member's retirement allowance under the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP), may be payable to a designated beneficiary or the member's estate; this would be based upon the payment option that the member chose at retirement. In addition, a fractional payment of the retirement allowance payment for the month in which the member died would be payable to a designated beneficiary, as long as the member did not die on the last day of the month.

When you transfer your membership, you also transfer your tier status, service credit, and accumulations in the Qualified Pension Plan (QPP). In addition, Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) Program participants must elect to withdraw, directly roll over, or directly transfer their TDA funds.

The following rules apply for transferring QPP accumulations:

• If you are a participant in the Age 55 Retirement Program—You may not transfer your Additional Member Contributions (AMCs) unless you are transferring to the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS); in this case, the employee portion of your AMCs may be transferred. If you are transferring to a system other than BERS, you may receive the employee portion of your AMCs as a withdrawal or directly roll over this portion. The entire balance of the employee portion of your AMCs is taxable.
• If you are a Tier III, IV, or VI member—You may not transfer your Annuity Savings Accumulation Fund (ASAF) balance because other retirement systems do not have an equivalent fund to support these monies. Therefore, you may receive your ASAF funds as a withdrawal or directly roll over the balance. The entire ASAF balance is taxable.

If you elect to directly roll over all or part of the taxable portion of your withdrawal to one or more eligible Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) or other successor programs, you must attach a completed QPP Direct Rollover Election Form (code RW29) with the TRS Membership Transfer Form (code RW39) . In all cases, the tax-free portion of your withdrawal will be paid directly to you.

The monthly unit values used to value in dollars) any investments in the variable-return Passport Funds depend on your membership status when filing for your withdrawal, as explained below:

• In most cases, the unit values used would be the unit values in effect for the month after TRS receipt of your withdrawal request.
• If you are filing to withdraw your TDA or Roth funds in conjunction with your separation from service, but after the withdrawal of your Qualified Pension Plan (QPP) accumulations, the unit values used generally would be the unit values in effect for the month after TRS receipt of your Application for Withdrawal of QPP Accumulations (code RW41) or TRS Membership Transfer Form (code RW39). However, if you are a non-vested member who filed to withdraw your QPP funds before the date you separated from service, the unit values used would be the unit values in effect for the month after your separation from service.
• If you are filing to withdraw your TDA or Roth funds after your TRS membership rights expired, the funds in these accounts stopped accruing interest and/or investment return on the date your membership rights expired (i.e., seven school years after your separation from service). The unit values used would be the unit values in effect for the month after that seven-year anniversary date.