The IRS requires that TRS withhold 20% of the taxable portion of any lump-sum death benefit paid to a surviving spouse, unless the spouse instructs TRS to directly roll over the amount into an IRA or a Section 401 Plan. In addition, the IRS requires that TRS withhold 10% of any death benefit paid to a non-spouse beneficiary, unless that beneficiary elects to have a percentage greater than 10% withheld. Any withheld amount will be sent to the IRS as credit toward the beneficiary's federal taxes for the year of distribution.

For a list of forms on taxes and death benefit payments, please see the Withdrawals/Distribution category in the Forms–Beneficiaries section.

Funds are generally deposited in your account on the day the payment is issued. Monthly benefit payments are issued on the last day of the month. If the last day of the month is not a business day, your account may not reflect the deposit until the next business day. Note: TRS does not control when your financial institution will credit your account. If you have questions about when funds will be credited to your account, contact your financial institution.

Civil service law requires that candidates for most New York City jobs take and pass an exam before they can be hired. These jobs are called the "competitive class." These exams test individuals on the skills and abilities that they need to do the job. They are administered by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).

Each title has a different exam based on the skills the job requires. There are two different types of civil service exams:

• Open competitive exams are open to members of the public.
• Promotion exams are only open to current City employees.

The Notice of Examination (NOE) for each exam lists the qualifications for the position, the types of tests required (written, practical, and/or physical) and the date(s) of the test.

The Annual Civil Service Exam Schedule is published every July. It lists the exams that will be taking applications in the upcoming months.

The Monthly Application Schedule shows a list of each month's open exams.

After each exam, the City creates an "eligible to hire" list. This list has all candidates who passed the exam, ranked in score order. When an agency has a hiring need, it will contact candidates for interviews in order of their ranked scores. These civil service lists are typically kept for a duration of four years.

No. Section 522 of the Education Law specifies that members may transfer to only New York City or New York State public retirement systems.

You may apply for a new QPP loan approximately four months after you receive your new TRS membership number.

The purchase of prior service will not enable you to change your tier status. However, you may be entitled to membership/tier reinstatement if you are currently active and previously lost your membership and tier rights in TRS or another New York City or New York State public retirement system.

If you believe the amount taken from your paycheck for service purchase deductions is incorrect, please contact TRS' Member Status Unit in writing.

You may apply for a new QPP loan approximately four months after you receive your new TRS membership number.

No. In fact, depending on the circumstances, the retirement allowance payments that members receive the second time may be more than when they retired the first time.

The current interest rate on a QPP loan is 6%.

For all tiers, the interest rate on a TDA loan is equal to the annual rate of return that you would receive on TDA investments in the Fixed Return Fund. Therefore, for members serving in (or retired/resigned from) a UFT-covered title, the interest rate on TDA loans would be 7%; for other members, the interest rate would be 8.25%.

A $30 service charge is added to all TDA loans, as well as to QPP loans issued to Tier III, IV, and VI members.