This website is intended for institutional retirement plan sponsors and their consultants, registered investment advisers, and other related businesses. If you are looking for individual services, please visit TIAA.org.

Celebrating 70 years

CREF invented the first variable annuity in 1952 to help keep pace with inflation.

Find out how you can help your clients and their participants build lifetime income in retirement from low-cost CREF Accounts.1

What we offer

Providing your participants with asset allocation building blocks

With eight options covering a broad range of asset classes, your participants can choose what works best for them.

Select any of the following accounts for more details.

Flexible options

Designed to help your participants to and through retirement

Participants can efficiently accumulate assets and make a seamless transition into distribution.

They can contribute through your retirement plan and have the opportunity for long-term growth and increased purchasing power to offset inflation and rising costs.

They can take money out by choosing among flexible income options including testing out monthly payments for up to two years.

Why cref?

Designed to help create lifetime income

For 70 years, CREF has enabled millions of employees to save with the opportunity for long-term returns – and retire with the confidence of lifetime income.

Opportunity for growth

Professionally managed investment options designed to provide long-term performance and growth potential.

Lowest fees in the industry

CREF Accounts have the lowest expenses in the industry1 and offer expense ratios lower than the average expense ratio of all mutual funds.2

More lifetime income

Designed to provide monthly income that lasts a lifetime and to help keep pace with inflation in retirement.3

Get in touch

Learn more about our investment management capabilities

Call the Administrator Telephone Center, 888-842-7782, weekdays, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. (ET)

1Source: Morningstar Direct, 03/31/2022. The CREF variable annuity accounts have expense ratios that are in the bottom decile (or 100% below median) of their respective Morningstar category. Our variable annuity accounts are subject to various fees and expenses, including but not limited to management, administrative, and distribution fees; our variable annuity products have an additional mortality and expense risk charge. Please see CREF prospectus for other fees or expenses.

2Source: Morningstar Direct 03/31/2022. Expense ratio comparisons and total net expense ratios: CREF Overall: 0.26%, VA-Sub Account average – overall: 1.88% and VA-Sub Account average – retail variable annuities - 2.19%. CREF's insurance expense at 0.05% is 286 times less than the average total VA-Sub Account insurance fees of 1.43%.

 3Annuity Account options are available through contracts issued by TIAA or CREF. These contracts are designed for retirement or other long-term goals, and offer a variety of income options, including lifetime income. Any guarantees under annuities issued by TIAA are subject to TIAA's claims-paying ability. Payments from the variable annuity accounts are not guaranteed and will rise and fall based on investment performance.

A variable annuity is an insurance contract and includes underlying investments whose value is tied to market performance. When markets are up, you can capture the gains, but you may also experience losses when markets are down. When you retire, you can choose to receive income for life and/ or other income options.

Annuity contracts contain terms for keeping them in force. Exclusions, restrictions, limitations and reductions in benefits will, in certain situations, apply to annuity contracts

You could lose money by investing in the CREF Money Market Account. Because the accumulation unit value of the Account will fluctuate, the value of your investment may increase or decrease. An investment in the Account is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Account’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide support to the Account, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Account at any time. 

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