Please take note of the following annual events that affect you as a retired TRS member:
Federal income tax withholding (W-4P) form
TRS cannot give tax advice. You may wish to contact a qualified tax advisor or the Internal Revenue Service at (800) 829-1040 to ensure that you have adequate federal withholding for the 2025 tax year. If you are underwithholding, there could be a negative consequence at tax time.
If you would like to change your withholding election, you must complete a new Form W-4P. You can call your local Internal Revenue Service office for a blank form or download the blank W-4P Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments form from the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4p.pdf. A new Form W-4P replaces any former withholding on file with TRS.
You may return the form by:
- Uploading it in the secure member area:
- Go to Member Login on the homepage and access your secure account.
- From your member account page, find Member Services from the choices on the left.
- Under Member Services, select Document Upload.
- Mailing it to:
Teachers’ Retirement System
PO Box 19253
Springfield IL 62794-9253
- Fax it to: (217) 753-0964
1099-R Form
If you received a TRS benefit in 2024, the Office of the Comptroller will mail an IRS Form 1099-R to you by Jan. 31, 2025. This form will report your income received from TRS during 2024.
The amount shown in Box 5 on the 1099-R form represents the non-taxable portion of TRS retirement benefits paid to you for the year (see graphic below) and is the difference between Boxes 1 and 2a. Box 5 does not represent the amount of your TRIP premiums for 2024. Box 9B will only have a value if 2024 was the first year that you received a benefit from TRS.
If you do not receive a 1099-R form by Feb. 16, 2025 or you need a duplicate copy sent to you, please log in to the secure Member Account Access area. Annually after Feb. 16, you may request a duplicate 1099-R online for a prior year. Members may also request a duplicate 1099-R by calling TRS at (887) 927-5877. It may take up to 10 business days to receive your duplicate copy in the mail.
If you have not yet set up your online member account, please watch this video to learn how: https://www.trsil.org/videos/accessing-your-trs-member-account-online. Your Member ID is required to set up an account.