TIAA annuities

Overview

TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America) is the retirement-plan insurer for much of America's education and nonprofit workforce. The TIAA Family group ranked #23 among U.S. groups by 2024 individual annuity direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $5.70 billion in premiums and a 1.35% market share. Its history, ownership and old life insurance business are covered in the TIAA life insurance profile.

TIAA is not a typical annuity seller, and that is the main thing to understand about it. Most companies on this list sell annuities one contract at a time through agents, banks and brokers. TIAA's annuities mostly reach people through their employer: they are investment options inside 403(b), 401(a), 457 and similar retirement plans offered by colleges and universities, K-12 schools, teaching hospitals, museums and other nonprofits. A 403(b) is the tax-deferred retirement plan for employees of public schools and tax-exempt organizations, the nonprofit counterpart of a 401(k). If your employer's plan uses TIAA, the money you direct to TIAA Traditional or a CREF account is held in an annuity contract or certificate issued by TIAA, even though you never dealt with an agent.

That has several consequences:

• Your plan decides what you can buy. Contract types, transfer rules and payout choices vary by employer plan. Some TIAA products are available only to employees and retirees of eligible nonprofit institutions and their families, according to TIAA.
• There is no sales commission in the usual sense. TIAA's products are sold through employer plans and salaried, non-commissioned consultants rather than commissioned agents.
• People outside the nonprofit world can still buy some products, mainly through a TIAA IRA, which TIAA says can hold TIAA Traditional for those without access through an employer plan.

TIAA has no outside shareholders; its stock is held by the TIAA Board of Overseers, a New York not-for-profit corporation.

Annuities it sells

TIAA groups its retirement annuities into fixed and variable accounts. Many participants use both and decide at retirement how much to turn into lifetime income.

• TIAA Traditional (fixed annuity). TIAA's flagship guaranteed annuity. While you save, TIAA guarantees your principal and a minimum interest rate set in your contract. If you later convert to income (annuitization), it guarantees a monthly check that never drops below the contract amount, for as long as you live. On top of the guarantees, the TIAA Board of Trustees may declare additional amounts of interest and income each year, which are not guaranteed beyond the declaration year. TIAA says it has shared about $3 billion a year in such profits with TIAA Traditional owners over the past 10 years, citing its 2016-2025 annual statements. Some contracts may also earn a discretionary TIAA Loyalty Bonus at annuitization.
• TIAA Stable Value (fixed annuity). A guaranteed-growth fixed account used in some employer plans, with access to money at any time and an option for lifetime income.
• CREF Accounts (variable annuity). The College Retirement Equities Fund, created in 1952, is a set of variable annuity accounts invested in stocks, bonds and other markets. Values and any retirement checks rise and fall with performance. TIAA points to Morningstar data showing CREF expense ratios in the bottom decile of their variable annuity categories as of December 31, 2023, though CREF also carries a mortality and expense risk charge.
• TIAA Real Estate Account (variable annuity). Invests mainly in directly owned commercial real estate; returns come from rents and property values and can fall, and it can offer variable lifetime income.
• TIAA Access (variable annuity). A variable annuity with multiple investment options and an option for lifetime income.
• Lifetime income. Each of these can be converted to monthly income for life, so a TIAA account can work like a self-funded pension. The choice is permanent: TIAA says that once income payments begin you cannot change to another option.

The main trade-off is liquidity. Transfers and withdrawals from TIAA Traditional are restricted by its underlying contracts, which TIAA says can affect how easily you can get money out. Check your specific contract (often labeled RA, SRA, GRA, GSRA or RC) and plan rules before you count on moving money. TIAA's individual annuity sold through its former life company, the Investment Horizon Annuity, closed to new sales after October 31, 2025. See fixed annuities: how they work, what they cost, who they suit, variable annuities: how they work, what they cost, who they suit and Should you put an annuity in an IRA?.

Ownership and reinsurance

TIAA is owned through a not-for-profit board, not by private equity or public shareholders, and it also owns Nuveen, a large asset manager. In October 2026 Nuveen completed its purchase of the British asset manager Schroders. AM Best, in its July 2026 rating action, flagged realized investment losses in recent years, rising commercial mortgage delinquencies and the higher leverage expected from the Schroders deal. This profile did not find disclosures of offshore reinsurance of TIAA's retirement annuities.

In July 2021 the SEC announced that a TIAA subsidiary, TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, would pay $97 million to settle SEC and New York Attorney General charges that it failed to disclose conflicts of interest when advisers urged plan participants to roll savings into a higher-cost managed account program. TIAA agreed to reforms, including a fiduciary standard for rollover recommendations (best interest rules for annuity sales).

Financial strength

TIAA has some of the highest ratings in the industry. AM Best affirmed its A++ (Superior) financial strength rating, the top of the scale, on July 23, 2026. TIAA reports a Fitch rating of AAA (affirmed February 13, 2026), Moody's Aa1 (February 12, 2026) and S&P AA+ (affirmed August 27, 2025). See AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Fitch ratings explained.

Guarantees in TIAA Traditional depend on TIAA's claims-paying ability. CREF and Real Estate Account values are not guaranteed and can lose money. State guaranty associations back fixed annuity values up to state limits; check yours with the state guaranty association coverage lookup.

Who it suits

TIAA suits teachers, professors, researchers, hospital staff and other nonprofit employees whose plan offers it, particularly those who value a guaranteed fixed account during their career and want to turn part of their savings into lifetime income at retirement. It suits less well people who may need to move large sums quickly, since TIAA Traditional transfers and withdrawals can be restricted, or anyone outside the nonprofit world who wants a wide menu of commercial annuity types such as indexed annuities or MYGAs, which TIAA does not offer.

• Strengths: A++ from AM Best (July 2026) and AAA from Fitch; no outside shareholders; guaranteed lifetime income options built into retirement plans; low-cost CREF variable accounts; a long record of declaring additional amounts on TIAA Traditional.
• Weaknesses: TIAA Traditional liquidity limits in many contracts; product availability depends on your employer plan; additional amounts are not guaranteed; a $97 million 2021 SEC and New York settlement over rollover sales practices.

How to contact TIAA