Direct deposit

Direct deposit is a safe, convenient way to receive your retirement allowance. You don’t have to worry about a check being stolen or lost in the mail, or having to cash the check on your own. Over 75% of our retirees now receive their retirement allowances through this method!

• About direct deposit (also known as “Electronic Funds Transfer” or EFT)
• To transfer your direct deposit to another bank or to another account within the same bank
• To discontinue direct deposit

Please note: Even if you are on direct deposit, you must keep us informed if any change in address, so that you will receive any direct deposit statements, 1099-R tax form and other mailings from us.

About direct deposit (Electronic Funds Transfer/EFT)

You may receive your monthly retirement allowance or survivor benefit payment in one of two ways:

• in a check that is mailed to you, or
• by an electronic transfer to your bank account—commonly known as direct deposit.

If you want to receive your payment via electronic funds transfer, simply complete and return our Direct Deposit Authorization form (2 pages; pdf). If you do not submit this form, we will automatically mail your checks to you at your home address.

You may change the way you receive your payments at any time and as often as you want during your retirement by notifying us in writing. If you choose to receive your payments via direct deposit at the time of your retirement or at some later date, please allow two months for us to process your request. (This means that you should expect to receive your retirement allowance checks at your home during this time.) After this time, your payments will be electronically transferred to your account. Once you are receiving payments by electronic transfer, you will not receive a monthly statement; direct deposit statements are only mailed:

• when your first direct deposit is made;

• when there is a change in the amount of your direct deposit from the prior month (for instance, if you change the amount of your federal tax withholding or your insurance premium changes);

• when the MTRS needs to inform retirees of new information and prints a special notice on the top portion of the direct deposit statement; and,

• at the end of December, when the MTRS provides you with a statement that shows your complete year-to-date information for the calendar year.

NOTE: A direct deposit statement is only produced and mailed in the circumstances listed above.

To transfer your direct deposit to another bank or to another account within the same bank

To transfer your existing direct deposit of your retirement or survivor benefit:

• to another bank, complete and return a new Direct Deposit Authorization form (2 pages; pdf). Please note: You should not close your old account until the first deposit has been made to your new bank or you receive a retirement check at home. The process of changing your direct deposit from one bank to another takes approximately two months to complete. Occasionally, before the changeover is completed, one check may be mailed to the address shown on the Direct Deposit Authorization form.

• to another account within the same bank, simply write to our main office and direct us to change your direct deposit from the old account to the new account. Please be sure to include:

  • your Social Security number,

  • the old account number and type (checking or savings), and

  • the new account number and type (checking or savings).

  If the new account is a checking account , please attach a voided check to your correspondance.

To discontinue direct deposit

To discontinue your existing electronic funds transfer and begin receiving your payment via mailed check, write to our main office and instruct us to discontinue the direct deposit of your benefit payment. If we receive your request by the 15th of the month, you should begin receiving your checks by mail at the end of that month. When writing, be sure to include your Social Security number and telephone number on your correspondence.