what is the teachers insurance annuity association tiaa 
the teachers insurance and annuity association tiaa is a financial organization that provides investment and insurance services for those working for organizations in the nonprofit industry in academic research medical government and cultural fields tiaa has a history that dates back to the late andrew carnegie whose carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching created the initial organization in order to service the pension needs of professors the financial services company was founded in 1918 with a 1 million endowment from the carnegie foundation 12 it went by the name tiaa cref short for teachers insurance and annuity association college retirement equities fund until 2016 when it rebranded under the shortened name of tiaa 3understanding the teachers insurance annuity association tiaa tiaa was founded as a nonprofit which is still part of its charter however congress revoked its tax exempt status in the taxpayer relief act of 1997 it is now structured as a nonprofit organization that has taxable subsidiaries and all profits are returned to policyholders tiaa offers retirement products 529 college savings plans managed investment accounts savings products and brokerage accounts 45distributions to policyholders of the tiaa traditional account are based on a yearly determination by the tiaa board 67 the main office is in new york and as of 2024 there are 133 offices in the u s 89as of 2024 tiaa has nearly 5 million active and retired employee accounts at more than 15 000 institutions with 1 2 trillion under management 10 its investment manager nuveen is the no 1 ranked asset manager of real assets in farmland as of 2024 11 it was ranked the no 1 best overall large fund company by the refinitiv lipper fund awards for six years in a row from 2013 to 2018 12 it also won the lipper best mixed assets large fund group award for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2020 13adding the college retirement equities fund cref while the creation of tiaa in 1918 as a means of providing guaranteed lifetime income and insurance was a groundbreaking new resource for teachers and educators it was the establishment of the college retirement equities fund cref in 1952 that started the company on the road to becoming a diversified financial services firm citing rapidly increasingly life expectancies cref allowed individuals the opportunity to add equity investments to their personal portfolios through a variable annuity product it was designed to use the higher expected returns of stocks to help stretch out the retirement income streams of workers fortune magazine described cref in 1952 as the biggest development in the insurance investment business since the passage of the social security act in 1935 14 tiaa dropped cref from its name in 2016 3tiaa acquisitionsin the past decade tiaa has made some acquisitions to grow its portfolio and product offerings tiaa has demonstrated a history of accepting investment strategies before the strategies became mainstream in 1979 the company was one of the first to utilize a broad portfolio of international stocks as part of its investment strategy in 1990 it added the cref social choice account to its lineup giving customers a socially responsible investing option in 1992 it introduced the rollover ira in 1995 tiaa offered individuals the ability to invest in directly owned real estate properties 19 in 1998 the company entered the 529 marketplace 20on may 1 2021 thasunda brown duckett became tiaa s president and chief executive officer ceo making her one of only two black women heading fortune 500 companies previously she was the ceo of chase consumer banking 2122duckett was named one of fortune s most powerful women in 2021 23 american banker magazine named her the 7th most powerful woman in banking in 2019 24 black enterprise magazine included her on its most powerful women in corporate america list in 2015 25tiaa retirement productstiaa offers a variety of retirement products among the most popular are this employer sponsored plan is a defined contribution plan like a 401 k and there are significant differences between the two when it comes to their structure funding investments and payouts the tiaa cref traditional plan can be funded with either fixed or variable annuities and its emphasis is on providing lifetime income at retirement rather than tax exempt wealth accumulation there are eight different variable cref structures tiaa plans aren t as concerned with the amount of money saved which is intended to supplement other retirement income instead they look to future annual income generated by the accumulated money the funds are annuitized to provide guaranteed lifetime annual income in that sense the tiaa traditional plan functions more like a defined benefit pension plan than a 401 k 27you can also purchase a personal annuity directly from tiaa which offers both the fixed and variable kinds a fixed annuity grows at a slow but steady rate as you save even during financial downturns there are no mandatory withdrawals prior to age 90 and the money in your annuity grows tax deferred a variety of time periods are available 28a variable annuity offers a chance for greater growth through investments but is subject to the vagaries of the market there are virtually no contribution limits allowing you to continue investing retirement money after you have maxed out your 401 k 403 b or individual retirement account ira tiaa offers more than 60 investment choices and your money grows tax deferred you can invest or withdraw funds at any time and both you and your spouse can receive payments in retirement at retirement you can choose to generate a set amount of annual lifetime income or take the money in a lump sum payment you never pay a surrender charge 29tiaa offers traditional and roth iras and it also allows you to roll over other retirement accounts 401 k 403 b or ira plans into a new or existing tiaa ira rollovers can also go the other way from a tiaa plan to a regular retirement account 30 traditional iras provide a tax break on the money you deposit but you must pay taxes on the money when you withdraw it roth iras involve after tax contributions meaning that you don t pay taxes on withdrawals tiaa also has sep and simple iras for small businesses 31target date funds are labeled lifecycle funds by tiaa and allow you to invest in mutual funds you pick a retirement date and the fund automatically adjusts its mix of high risk and low risk investments over time with the latter increasing as you come closer to your retirement date 32who is eligible for a tiaa cref retirement plan these plans are available to workers in the nonprofit sector in academic research medical government and cultural fields tiaa was originally started in 1918 to provide pensions for professors 