Understanding
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TIAA-CREF
Gustan Book 24pt
Investment Solutions IRA
This package contains a new TIAA contract and endorsements to your CREF contract for
each Investment Solutions IRA (Traditional, Roth or SEP) you own. The new contract is for
contributions, rollovers and transfers made to the TIAA Traditional Annuity and the TIAA Real
Estate Account in your IRA. It’s important to understand the change, why it was made and
how it might affect you. We’ve created this guide to help you do just that.
Here’s what you need to know
On the effective date of the change, the guaranteed minimum rate for new contributions,
rollovers and transfers to TIAA Traditional in your IRA changed from a guaranteed minimum
rate of 3% to a guaranteed minimum rate between 1% and 3% (determined annually).
From the effective date through February 28, 2014, that guaranteed minimum rate is 1%.
The rate of return for TIAA Real Estate is not affected by this change. To confirm the
effective date and for details about how the new guaranteed minimum rate will be
determined, please go to www.tiaa-cref.org/iraupdates.
Any balance you hold in TIAA Traditional in your IRA before the effective date will continue to
receive the 3% guaranteed minimum rate as long as that money remains in place. And your
principal is always guaranteed.1 In future years, you will, as always, be credited with any
additional amounts declared above the guaranteed minimum.2 This applies to balances held
in TIAA Traditional in your IRA both before and after the effective date of the change.
Who is affected?
Virtually anyone who owns a TIAA-CREF IRA that was opened before October 11, 2010.
IMPORTANT: This change does not affect TIAA Traditional or TIAA Real Estate held in any
employer-sponsored plan. It applies only to TIAA Traditional and TIAA Real Estate held
in a TIAA-CREF IRA (Traditional, Roth and SEP).
Why are we making this change?
We are making this change to better reflect the current global interest rate environment,
and at the same time, help safeguard you and your beneficiaries for the long term. The
new guaranteed minimum rate (between 1% and 3%) allows us to be more responsive to
different interest rate environments, and offers the potential for higher rates if interest
rates rise in the future.
1
2
All guarantees are subject to TIAA’s claims-paying ability.
Additional amounts, if any, are not guaranteed for future years. TIAA Traditional is a guaranteed insurance
contract and not an investment for federal securities law purposes.
Understanding a change to your TIAA-CREF Investment Solutions IRA
Going forward, you will see two balances each for TIAA Traditional and TIAA Real Estate
Before the change took place, any money you had in TIAA Traditional in your IRA appeared as a single line item on your
quarterly and confirmation statements, and on your online account page. After the effective date of the change, you’ll see:
TWO line items for TIAA Traditional:
and TWO line items for TIAA Real Estate:
TRADITIONAL (closed): Money accumulated in
TIAA Traditional up to the effective date.
WW TIAA
TRADITIONAL (open): Money going into TIAA
Traditional starting on the effective date.
WW TIAA
WW TIAA
WW TIAA
REAL ESTATE (closed): Money accumulated
in TIAA Real Estate up to the effective date.
REAL ESTATE (open): Money going into TIAA
Real Estate starting on the effective date.
How “open” and “closed” balances will appear on statements and online
Here are examples of how “open” and “closed” balances will appear on your quarterly portfolio statement and your online
account after the effective date. Please note that your information may look slightly different from what you see below.
Sample quarterly portfolio statement
Sample online account page
2 IRA Substitution Brochure
Understanding a change to your TIAA-CREF Investment Solutions IRA
“Closed” and “open” balances – how they work
TIAA Traditional
CLOSED balance
OPEN balance
What’s in this balance?
Money accumulated in TIAA Traditional up to the
effective date.
Money going into TIAA Traditional starting on the
effective date.
What is the guaranteed
minimum rate?
Guaranteed minimum 3% rate. Crediting rate could be
higher than the guaranteed minimum rate.
Guaranteed minimum rate between 1% and 3%.
Crediting rate could be higher than the guaranteed
minimum rate. From the effective date of the change
through February 28, 2014, the guaranteed minimum
rate will be 1%.
Money going in
Closed to new contributions, rollovers and transfers
as of the effective date.
Open to new contributions, rollovers and transfers
starting on the effective date.
Money going out
Once money is moved out, it cannot be moved back
in. Any money moved into TIAA Traditional starting
on the effective date will earn the new guaranteed
minimum rate between 1% and 3%.
Money may be moved out and back in.
Are my balances
guaranteed?
Yes, always guaranteed.
Yes, always guaranteed.
CLOSED balance
OPEN balance
What’s in this balance?
Money accumulated in TIAA Real Estate up to the
effective date.
Money going into TIAA Real Estate starting on the
effective date.
What happens
to the rate of return?
Rate of return is not affected by this change.
Rate of return is not affected by this change.
Money going in
Closed to new contributions, rollovers and transfers
as of the effective date.
Open to new contributions, rollovers and transfers
starting on the effective date.
Money going out
Once money is moved out, it cannot be moved
back in.
Money may be moved out and back in.
TIAA Real Estate
Important information to consider — so you can plan accordingly.
planning advice. Your Investment Solutions IRA
will continue to come with the same retirement planning
advice service as always.
WW Retirement
allocation. The mix of investments you’ve
chosen for your IRA will remain unless you change it.
We recommend you review it regularly to make sure it
continues to match your objectives and needs as time
goes by. To review and make changes, please go to
tiaa-cref.org and log in to your account.
WW Asset
choices. All IRA investment choices available
to you before the effective date of the change will remain
available after the change takes place.
WW Investment
Your IRA beneficiary designations will remain
the same after the effective date of the change. Please
review them regularly to make sure they are up-to-date. To
review and make changes, please go to www.tiaa-cref.org/
beneficiaries and log in to your account.
WW Beneficiaries.
rebalancing. If you currently have your
IRA automatically rebalanced each year on your birthday,
that service will continue without interruption after the
effective date of the change. For details about how
rebalancing will work, please go to www.tiaa-cref.org/
iraupdates.
WW Automatic
IRA Substitution Brochure 3
Frequently asked questions
Which TIAA-CREF IRAs are affected by the change?
The only IRAs that are affected by the change are TIAA-CREF
Investment Solutions IRAs (Traditional, Roth and SEP) that
were opened before October 11, 2010.
Traditional balance (which will receive the new guaranteed
minimum rate between 1% and 3%) will be credited to that
“open” balance.
What about money in TIAA Traditional in my employersponsored retirement plan? Does this change affect it too?
No. The change applies only to money held in TIAA
Traditional in an Investment Solutions IRA. It does not
apply to TIAA Traditional or TIAA Real Estate held in any
employer-sponsored retirement plan.
Are the distribution options for TIAA Traditional staying
the same?
Yes. All of the distribution options for TIAA Traditional
available to you before the effective date will continue
to be available. If you elect to receive fixed-period or
lifetime annuity payments, the guaranteed minimum payout
rate for contributions, rollovers and transfers made to
TIAA Traditional before the effective date will continue
to be 2.5%. The guaranteed minimum payout rate for
contributions, rollovers and transfers made to TIAA
Traditional on or after the effective date will be 2%. The
total payout rate for balances accumulated both before
and after the effective date will continue to be based
on the guaranteed minimum payout rate plus any additional
amounts declared by the TIAA Board of Trustees. Please
keep in mind that if you choose not to receive income
from TIAA Traditional, you have the option to transfer those
balances to other investment choices (for example,
TIAA Real Estate or the CREF variable annuity accounts)
and receive your distributions from those accounts.
Will my closed TIAA Traditional balance continue
to receive the guaranteed minimum 3% rate?
Yes. Any balance you had in TIAA Traditional before
the effective date will continue to receive the minimum
guaranteed 3% rate as long as it remains in place.
Will my annual rebalancing instructions be affected?
No. Your current annual rebalancing instructions will
remain in place. However, the rules for how your account is
rebalanced will be affected by the change we are making.
Please go to www.tiaa-cref.org/iraupdates for details.
How will additional amounts be credited to TIAA
Traditional after the effective date of the change?
Additional amounts attributable to TIAA Traditional in your
IRA’s TIAA contracts will remain and be reinvested in the
balances that they derive from. For example, additional
amounts attributable to your “closed” TIAA Traditional
balance (which will continue to receive the guaranteed
minimum 3% rate) will be credited to that “closed” balance.
And additional amounts attributable to your “open” TIAA
What if I need advice about my IRA investments?
Your IRA will continue to come with the same retirement
planning advice service as always. Just call us at the
telephone numbers below.
What is an Investment Solutions IRA?
A TIAA-CREF Investment Solutions IRA is one of several
types of IRAs offered by TIAA‑CREF. There are three basic
types of Investment Solutions IRAs: Traditional, Roth and
SEP (Simplified Employee Pension Plan).
Why am I receiving a CREF contract endorsement?
I thought the change only applied to TIAA Traditional
and TIAA Real Estate?
The new CREF endorsement authorizes you to make
transactions between CREF and TIAA Traditional and
TIAA Real Estate in your open TIAA contracts. For
complete details, go to www.tiaa-cref.org/iraupdates.
I have a question that I don’t see the answer to here.
Where can I get more information?
Please go to www.tiaa-cref.org/iraupdates for
further details.
For further assistance.
Please call 888 211-3850 (inside and outside the U.S.) to speak with a TIAA-CREF Financial Consultant. If you are
an Individual Advisory Services client with an assigned advisor, please call him or her directly; otherwise call the
Individual Advisory Contact Center at 888 211-3849 (inside and outside the U.S.).
TIAA Traditional is a guaranteed annuity backed by TIAA’s claims-paying ability. It guarantees your principal and a minimum interest rate, plus it offers the
opportunity for additional amounts in excess of the guaranteed rate. These additional amounts, when declared by the TIAA Board of Trustees, remain in
effect for the “declaration year” that begins each March 1. Additional amounts are not guaranteed for future years.
TIAA annuity contract is issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), New York, NY. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC,
and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.
© 2013 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
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