TIAA-CREF is the acronym for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund. The company was founded in New York City about 100 years ago. Although it is still headquartered in New York, the company has regional offices in Denver, CO, Charlotte, NC, and Dallas, TX. The company has a current revenue of $37 billion, and Fortune ranks TIAA-CREF number 84 on its list of top 500 companies.
The company was originally founded with a $1 million endowment from the Carnegie Foundation. In 2010, the company re-branded its model from a pension service for professors to a full-fledged for profit financial services corporation.
When the company was created in 1918, it was done so to provide a lifetime income to teachers. When the CREF was added on in 1952, the focus shifted to diverse financial services. Over the years, the average life expectancy grew. TIAA-CREF gave individuals the means to fatten their personal portfolios with equity investments. This was achievable through a variable annuity product.
With the expectation of higher stock returns, the retirees income stream was stretched. This now gave the individual income that they would not outlive. The CREF insurance investment became a big hit. In fact, Fortune Magazine described it as one of the biggest developments since the passing of the 1935 Social Security Act.
Even today, the TIAA-CREF funded annuities supply seniors with a secure retirement income. What makes them so unique is that they tend to focus more on the generation of future income as opposed to the dollar accumulation when retirement kicks in.
In addition, account options allow participants the ability to save if they need more income for retirement.
To find out more about TIAA-CREF annuities, Call a TIAA broker. They will provide you the appropriate tools needed to set up a permanent income stream when you retire.