How to Complete TRS Form 7: Notice of Final Deposit Before Retirement

TRS Form 7, the Notice of Final Deposit Before Retirement, is a document the Teacher Retirement System of Texas uses to collect your final salary and contribution figures from your employer so it can calculate your annuity. You do not complete it yourself. You hand the blank form to the TRS reporting official at your school district, college, or other TRS-covered employer when you resign, and that official fills in the payroll data and mails it to TRS.¹ TRS has since replaced the form with an electronic Retirement Certification process, but you may still see TRS 7 referenced in older district packets.²

Why This Form Exists

TRS cannot finalize your monthly annuity until it knows exactly what you earned and contributed in your last months on the job. TRS 7 is the vehicle for that information. Your employer uses it to report your final salary payment, your last retirement contribution deduction, and the month that final deposit will appear on the district’s regular payroll report to TRS. No TRS 7, no annuity calculation, no first check.¹

The form is one piece of the service retirement application governed by Chapter 824 of the Texas Government Code, which requires TRS to have all documentation, including the employer’s certification of final compensation, before processing the annuity.³

Your Role vs. Your Employer’s Role

Two people are involved, and the division of labor matters. You give the blank TRS 7 to your employer’s TRS reporting official at the time you submit your resignation. That official completes every field and signs the form. The signature of an authorized TRS reporting official is mandatory. Without it, the form is not valid.¹

Timing is the other half. Your employer should not submit TRS 7 until your correct final earned salary is confirmed, and should not send it any earlier than your retirement month. Rushing an estimated form through with projected figures causes errors in the annuity calculation, so your district’s payroll office will wait until your final paycheck has been processed before completing it.¹

What Information Goes on the Form

The TRS reporting official supplies all of the data. The fields on TRS 7 are:

Whether you held a TRS membership-eligible position during your last school year. If you did not, the official enters your resignation or termination date and signs.
The effective date of your resignation or termination from the TRS-covered employer.
The beginning and ending dates of the fall and spring semesters of the school year in which you were last employed.
Your total salary during the final month, meaning all creditable compensation reported on the last regular payroll report (RP20) for you.
Your final member contribution, which is your last regular monthly retirement contribution excluding the TRS-Care contribution.
The final TRS report month, meaning the month your final deposit will appear on the employer’s regular payroll report.
Your annual salary for the final year, totaling creditable salary from September 1 through your termination date.
Whether any non-creditable compensation was converted to salary in the five school years before retirement, and if so, the monthly amount and date of conversion.

These numbers drive the annuity you will receive for the rest of your life. Incorrect figures from your employer can push your monthly benefit too high or too low and force a later adjustment.¹

How the Form Gets to TRS

Your employer mails the completed TRS 7 to one of two Austin addresses:

USPS: Teacher Retirement System of Texas, P.O. Box 149676, Austin, TX 78714.
UPS or FedEx: Teacher Retirement System of Texas, 4655 Mueller Blvd., Austin, TX 78723.

The TRS 7 instructions tell employers not to fax or email the form. It must be mailed.¹ TRS accepts faxes at 512-542-6597 for other benefit forms, but TRS 7 is excluded from that option.⁴

If You Are Retiring Now: the Retirement Certification

TRS has replaced all previous versions of TRS 7, both electronic and paper, with a process called the Retirement Certification. Under the new system, TRS contacts your employer directly once two things have happened: TRS has processed your retirement application (Form TRS 30), and your chosen retirement date has passed. Your employer then completes the certification only after your final salary has been paid and your last member contribution has been deducted.²

In practice, this means a current retiree likely will not handle a paper TRS 7 at all. TRS initiates the request to your employer on its own timeline. You should still confirm with your district’s HR or payroll office that they know your retirement date and are ready to respond to TRS promptly, because the only thing standing between you and your first annuity payment at this stage is your employer’s response.

How This One Step Affects Your First Check

TRS processes most retirement benefits within 45 days after it has all required information, including the employer’s final salary certification. Accounts involving a divorce, multiple employers, or service credit purchases can take longer.⁵

The biggest variable is when your employer finishes paying you. Many Texas educators terminate in May but continue receiving contract payments through the summer. If your employer pays you through August, the district cannot report your final salary to TRS until September, and your first annuity payment, covering June through August, would arrive in October. If you are paid off in June instead, your employer provides the information in July, and your first payment could arrive as early as August.⁵

That is why TRS 7, or the Retirement Certification that replaces it, matters so much. It is the single document that unlocks your first check. Checking in with your district’s payroll office once your final salary is confirmed can shave weeks off the wait.

Where TRS 7 Sits in Your Retirement Filing

The Notice of Final Deposit is one piece of a larger application. A typical TRS service retirement follows this sequence:

Request a retirement estimate using Form TRS 18. If your requested retirement date is within 12 months, TRS sends a full retirement packet. If the date is further out, you receive only an estimate.⁶
Submit your retirement application, Form TRS 30, which sets your retirement date, annuity plan selection, and beneficiary. TRS processes applications within 31 days of receipt.⁷
Provide proof of age using Form TRS 13, satisfied by a driver’s license or birth certificate.
Employer submits final salary data. Previously via TRS 7, now through the Retirement Certification process.
Set up direct deposit with Form TRS 278.
Choose federal tax withholding using IRS Form W-4P.

All required documents must reach TRS within 12 months of your retirement effective date. Miss that deadline and your application becomes void.⁷

Getting Help From TRS

If you need to confirm whether your employer has submitted your final salary information, or you have questions about the Retirement Certification process, call TRS at 1-800-223-8778. You can also upload completed forms through the TRS website or drop them off at the Austin headquarters at 4655 Mueller Blvd. The fax line for benefit forms other than TRS 7 is 512-542-6597.⁴

1
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Service Retirement Packet
2
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Retirement Certifications
3
Justia Law. Texas Government Code Chapter 824 – Benefits
4
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Contact TRS
5
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Processing Time Frames
6
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Request for Estimate of Retirement Benefits – TRS 18
7
Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Instructions for Service Retirement Packet Checklist