Financial essentials

Keep the Checks Coming: Building Retirement Savings That Last

Get started with confidence. How can your retirement plan provide money for as long as you live.

2.5 min read

Create a retirement income engine

Retirement marks the transition from earning income to entering a new life chapter, often lasting decades. In fact, the average retiree can expect to live 20 years or more in retirement.1 That’s why building a retirement plan that ensures your money lasts as long as you live is important.

Building a retirement income strategy isn’t about relying on a single solution. It’s about creating a strategy that can help support your retirement journey even with the challenges that may come your way.

Plan your number, not just your retirement date

You’ve probably heard the advice to save at least 70%-90% of your pre-retirement income to make ends meet in retirement.2 That’s a smart benchmark, but personalizing your plan is just as important. Understanding your unique needs—like healthcare costs, lifestyle goals, and family considerations—helps shape a more realistic savings target.

The closer you get to retirement, the more important it becomes to assess whether your investments are aligned with your income needs. A key focus point as you transition to retirement, is paying attention to your asset allocation. You may need to adjust your portfolio accordingly to reduce excessive risk and help ensure your money is there for you in retirement. The earlier you start saving the greater potential you have to grow wealth and reach your retirement savings goals.

Why guaranteed income matters

Lifetime income products, like annuities, provide a reliable monthly payment, no matter how long you live. While Social Security and defined-benefit pensions offer similar benefits, many retirees still face a gap between these income sources and their actual needs.

That's where lifetime income solutions come in. By contributing to products that offer lifetime income in retirement consistently during your working years, you can convert a portion of your savings into a guaranteed income stream. This is a key way to help protect against the risk of outliving your savings.

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Options that support income confidence

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for lifetime income, but a range of solutions exist to fit your comfort level and goals. Here’s a closer look at two common annuity options:

  • Fixed annuity

    A dependable, steady stream of income for life, ideal for those seeking predictability and stability in retirement.

  • Variable annuity

    Offers growth potential through market exposure while still delivering reliable income for life in retirement.

Your financial strategy depends on your risk tolerance, lifestyle needs and how you want your savings to support you over the years. Our advice solutions, including the Retirement Journey Planner digital experience, can help you weigh your options and make informed decisions.

Separating annuity facts from fiction

No matter where you are on your career path, understanding all your retirement options puts you in control of your future. Annuities often get mischaracterized as overly complicated or too expensive. But employer-sponsored annuities typically have lower fees and better pricing compared to retail alternatives, due to the collective purchasing power that employer plans have.

Understanding how guaranteed lifetime income can benefit you may transform your approach to building retirement savings that won't run out.

Let us help you plan for retirement.

When reviewing your retirement plan, you may wonder if you’re contributing the right amount. TIAA offers assistance as part of your plan.

Guidance that’s tailored to you

Retirement Journey Planner can help you save, invest and protect your income in retirement.

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A benefit for TIAA participants

Retirement planning help is available as a benefit in most plans – at no additional cost.

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1 Social Security Administration, Acturial Life Table, Period Life Table, 2022, as used in the 2025 Trustees Report, https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html

2 Source: TIAA, https://www.tiaa.org/public/learn/lifetime-income

This material is for informational or educational purposes only and is not fiduciary investment advice, or a securities, investment strategy, or insurance product recommendation. This material does not consider an individual’s own objectives or circumstances which should be the basis of any investment decision.

The TIAA Retirement Journey Planner is a brokerage service provided by TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA, SIPC.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by the Retirement Journey Planner tool regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

Annuities are designed for retirement or other long-term goals, and offer a variety of income options, including lifetime income. Payments from variable annuity accounts are not guaranteed and will rise or fall based on investment performance.

No strategy can eliminate or anticipate all market risks, and losses can occur.

Any guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

Converting some or all of your savings to income benefits is an irrevocable decision once benefit payments begin.

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