NYC TRS Retirement Application: How to Apply for Your Pension

The Application Is Now Online Only

Since July 2, 2025, all Tier III, IV, and VI members file for service retirement exclusively through the MyTRS online portal. Paper service retirement applications — the legacy Form RE19 (Tier IV) and RE20 (Tier VI) — are no longer accepted for these tiers. Tier I and Tier II members still use dedicated e-forms or paper submissions.

This is not optional. If you are Tier III, IV, or VI and you mail in a paper form, it will not be processed.

The 90-Day Filing Window

The Service Retirement Application becomes available in MyTRS exactly three months before your 55th birthday or your target retirement date. Your effective retirement date must be between 1 and 90 days after the date you submit — you cannot backdate it, and you cannot schedule it more than 90 days out.

If you change your mind after filing, you can cancel the application online at least one day before your effective retirement date. Your QPP option election becomes permanently irrevocable 30 days after its initial payability date.

What the Application Requires

The MyTRS wizard walks through several elections in one session. Have these ready before you start:

QPP Payout Option Selection. You must choose between the Maximum Retirement Allowance (highest monthly payment, nothing to survivors) and one of the joint-and-survivor, period-certain, or pop-up options. This is the decision that keeps people up at night — and it becomes irrevocable 30 days after your retirement date.

Beneficiary Information. For options that pay a lifetime benefit to a beneficiary (Options 1, 2, 5-1, 5-2), submit the beneficiary's verified tax identifier and proof of date of birth (birth certificate, passport, or driver's license). Missing proof of birth halts calculation processing, while incomplete tax identifiers can delay claim processing. Missing beneficiary documentation is one of the most common reasons for processing delays.

Direct Deposit / EFT Setup. TRS cannot disburse any payment — advance or finalized — until your Electronic Fund Transfer banking details are established in the MyTRS portal. This is not a step you can defer; set it up before or during the application process.

The TDA Election Is Separate but Simultaneous

Your TDA distribution election is filed separately from the retirement application, but you should execute it during the same window. The three choices require different forms:

• TDA Deferral Status (Form TD31): Keep the money invested in TRS after retirement. The Fixed Return Fund pays 7% guaranteed for UFT members.
• TDA Annuitization (Form TD6): Convert your TDA balance into a monthly lifetime annuity.
• Total Withdrawal or Rollover (Forms TD32 / TD22): Take the cash or roll it to an IRA.

If you want to keep your TDA invested with TRS after retirement, submit Form TD31 as a vested member at or before retirement; do not assume Deferral Status is automatic.

Health Benefits Application

Separately from TRS, you must submit the NYC Health Benefits Application to the Office of Labor Relations (OLR) 30 to 60 days before your retirement date. This enrolls you in either the NYCE PPO (for pre-Medicare retirees) or GHI Senior Care (for Medicare-eligible retirees). Your DOE health coverage does not automatically convert to retiree coverage.

After You Submit

Your employer (DOE, CUNY, or charter school) processes your separation, terminal leave, and final paycheck on their side. TRS begins processing your retirement file.

Advance payments start arriving one to two months post-retirement. Final benefit calculation takes three to five months. The retroactive adjustment, including 5% annual interest, arrives with the first finalized payment.

The NYC TRS Retirement Guide provides the complete filing checklist and walks through each election in the MyTRS wizard.

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