CREF Variable Annuities
Investment options for every objective
Give your participants more confidence with growth potential and lifetime income from low-cost CREF Annuities.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 potential 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 over 65 years, CREF has enabled millions of employees to save with the potential for long-term returns – and retire with the confidence of income guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Dependable Lifetime Income
Historically provided higher levels of lifetime income in retirement compared to a 4% systematic withdrawal rate.2
Growth Potential
Since 1991 all CREF Accounts outperformed their respective Morningstar peers more than 88% of the time, based on rolling 15-year periods.3
Exceptional Value
Offered at-cost, without profit and with expense ratios at less than half the average expense ratios of all mutual funds.1
Video
Achieve better outcomes with diversified sources of income
When combined, CREF and TIAA Traditional provide a diversified income portfolio that can help reduce retirement risks and improve financial confidence.
Get In Touch
Contact us
Plan Sponsors
Call your TIAA relationship manager or call the Administrator Telephone Center.
888-842-7782
Weekdays, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. (ET)
Consultants & Advisors
We're here to help you serve your clients and expand your business.
1 Applies to mutual fund and variable annuity expense ratios. Source: Morningstar Direct, March 31, 2020. 75% of TIAA-CREF mutual fund products and variable annuity accounts have expense ratios that are in the bottom quartile (or 96.02% are below median) of their respective Morningstar category. Our mutual fund and variable annuity products 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.
2 Corporate Actuarial, Morningstar: When compared to theoretical 4% systematic withdrawal amounts from similarly invested peer groups, CREF, as represented by CREF stock, has historically paid higher levels of lifetime annuity income which has ranged from 5.9% to 6.8%. There are material differences between mutual funds and CREF variable accounts. Mutual fund capital-gain distributions or dividends paid are added to the number of shares owned (number of shares increase). CREF account capital-gain distributions or dividends are added to the unit value (number of units stay constant). Mutual fund withdrawals are only available as one- time or systematic withdrawals. CREF accounts include the right to receive an income stream (a binding decision to receive annuity payments) from all or part of an account’s accumulation. CREF accounts deduct a mortality and expense-risk charge of 0.005%.
3 TIAA data, 30 and 15 year rolling returns as of 06/30/2019. *R3 share class returns used. Prior to April 2015, R1 share class returns were used for calculations. Comparisons are based off of Morningstar’s category average peer group for each CREF Mandate.
Annuity 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 should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877-518-9161 or go to TIAA.org for current product and fund prospectuses that contain this and other information. Please read the prospectuses carefully before investing.
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