To apply for any withdrawal or rollover, members should log in to the secure section of the TRS website. For most withdrawals, you can use the Menu to navigate to the TDA or Roth section to start your application. For partial withdrawals, (i.e., withdrawals where you are not closing your account), please note that Rollovers (paid to a successor account) and Direct Payments (paid to you) must now be requested in separate transactions.

If you choose a Direct Payment of your TDA or Roth withdrawal, it will be paid by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) into the bank account on file with TRS. This may be the account where you receive your pay as an in-service member, or the account where you receive your retirement allowance as a retiree. You may provide or update your bank information in Payments in the secure section of the TRS website. Please note that establishing or changing an EFT account generally takes at least 21 days.

To apply for any withdrawal or rollover, members should log in to the secure section of the TRS website. For most withdrawals, you can use the Menu to navigate to the TDA or Roth section to start your application. For partial withdrawals, (i.e., withdrawals where you are not closing your account), please note that Rollovers (paid to a successor account) and Direct Payments (paid to you) must now be requested in separate transactions.

Hardship Withdrawals are taxable distributions.

You can elect to have 10% withheld from the taxable portion of your withdrawal and applied to your federal taxes for the year of distribution, or choose no withholding. Under both options, you are liable for any income tax that may be due on your hardship withdrawal, and you may be subject to tax penalties if your payments of estimated tax and withholding are not sufficient under the Internal Revenue Code.

Your hardship withdrawal, if approved, would be a taxable distribution and would be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in January following the calendar year in which it is distributed. For Roth hardship withdrawals, federal tax withholding applies only to the taxable portion of the withdrawal.

Since TDA and Roth hardship withdrawals are not eligible to be rolled over or transferred, your withdrawal would be subject to federal income tax; state and local taxes may also apply.

If a TDA loan is deemed a distribution in the same tax year in which you receive a TDA hardship withdrawal, the IRS would require TRS to withhold 20% of the taxable portion of the deemed distribution from the hardship withdrawal; this withholding would apply if your loan balance is deemed a distribution before your hardship withdrawal is processed, and would be in addition to any withholding required separately for the hardship withdrawal. The total amount withheld would be forwarded to the IRS and credited toward your taxes for the current year.

If you elect to have a withholding amount applied to your hardship withdrawal, the withholding amount would be adjusted based on the payment amount you receive. As a result, the estimated amounts indicated may not match the actual amounts of your hardship withdrawal.

Excess Withdrawal Applications are processed in the order that they are received, and are usually processed within two to three months after TRS' receipt of an application. However, if the necessary salary and service information is not available, processing could take substantially longer. If you file for an excess withdrawal in conjunction with retirement, you generally would receive your withdrawal at about the same time that you receive your first retirement allowance payment.

Yes. You may transfer the taxable portion of your withdrawal to another eligible Section 401 Plan or an IRA account. To do so, you must file a QPP Direct Rollover Election Form (code RW29) in conjunction with your withdrawal application. Any amount that is distributed through a Direct Rollover is not taxable until it is received as income, and you would not be subject to the 20% withholding tax that applies to direct withdrawals. In addition, you would not have to pay the additional 10% tax that applies to some direct withdrawals. Please note that the minimum amount for a QPP rollover is generally $200.

Yes. You may transfer the taxable portion of your withdrawal to another eligible Section 401 Plan or an IRA account. To do so, you must file a QPP Direct Rollover Election Form (code RW29) in conjunction with your withdrawal application. Any amount that is distributed through a Direct Rollover is not taxable until it is received as income, and you would not be subject to the 20% withholding tax that applies to direct withdrawals. In addition, you would not have to pay the additional 10% tax that applies to some direct withdrawals.

No, based on an Internal Revenue Service change effective after 2019. However, you would not be eligible for a hardship withdrawal unless you have maximized any reasonably available funds or distributions from non-TRS sources before you apply for a hardship withdrawal. Note that hardship withdrawal applications based on domestic abuse are exempt from this requirement.

If you are contemplating retiring soon, you may be wondering how to begin. It's important to begin preparing for the application process well in advance of your intended retirement date.

The following checklist should help you prepare for the retirement process.

• Review your service credit as soon as possible, to ensure you are eligible to retire;
• Consider taking a loan or, if applicable, an excess withdrawal;
• Choose a method of distribution for your TDA funds;
• Elect a payment option and designate your beneficiaries, if applicable;
• Tier I and II members should make a QPP investment election at retirement;
• File the Service Retirement Application for your tier;
• Read any of the applicable TRS Retirement Series brochures; and
• Check for the forms you may need to file with your retirement application
• Before filing for retirement, TRS must have your Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) information on file If you haven’t already done so, please establish your Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) information with TRS to receive your retirement allowance directly into your bank account electronically. TRS cannot pay your retirement allowance until we have your bank account information on file. Log in to the secure section of our website and access the Payments section to designate an account.

Members and beneficiaries who have received lump-sum distributions in the past five years can view the associated 1099 forms online by logging in to the secure section of our website. Retirees can view the 1099 forms for their monthly benefits, beginning with the 2021 tax year. Please note that TRS will continue to mail paper forms, including corrected forms, to all members. If you have any questions about the distributions reported on your online or paper 1099 forms, please file a 1099-R/1099-INT Inquiry Form (code GA5) with TRS.