TIAA Accounts Consolidate

[bei22000]

My husband has a 403 B retirement account with TIAA (1/3 is invested in TIAA traditional) thru his employer and one ROTH account with Vanguard (small amount). He is planning to retire in 2030 at 67. Most likely we will annualize all his TIAA traditional amount. I have all my retirement accounts with Fidelity and will retire in 2030 as well. I would like to have some advise on retirements consolidation. I can think of 3 possible options: 1) Leave all his 403 B retirement with TIAA still keep his Roth with Vanguard. 2) Move majority of his 403 B to Vanguard and keep only the annuity with TIAA? 3) Keep only his annuity with TIAA, move rest of his accounts to Fidelity so we will only have Fidelity & TIAA accounts in retirement. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[crefwatch]

If you annuitize all his holdings at TIAA, it might be fair to say that the TIAA account will become less of a burden (I mean, in terms of simplifying your financial lives ... ) than it would otherwise be. Because IRAs and 403(b)'s can have different taxation rules and/or lawsuit protection in certain states (for example, in NJ, where I live), a few investors might avoid or delay consolidation of 403(b)'s.

It's important to say what the alphabetic code for his TIAA Employer account is: like RA, SRA, RC, RCP, or whatever. That's because it could affect how "cashable" his TIAA Traditional holdings are.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find professional guidance about TIAA, other than from TIAA. Despite how many zillions of people have TIAA, their products are not well understood outside the Not For Profit employer sphere. I say that because of the next statement I'll make, which you may find hard to confirm (!):

TIAA annuitizations are often at more favorable rates than open-market, "big bad insurance companies" offer. If you are determined, or already decided to annuitize (not telling you WHAT to do ... ), I recommend doing so at TIAA.

Note also that TIAA offers both FIXED annuities and VARIABLE annuities. Because Bogleheads are, in general, conservative investors, variable annuities are not discussed here that often. So I'm not urging you to pick one or the other, but just making sure you know that both options are available. Variable annuity payouts are not for every investor/family/couple. (Note that CREF Stock, for example, is technically a variable annuity because of 403(b) tax law. But if you do not choose to annuitize it for a life payout, it has NONE of the "bad" features of a variable annuity, as would be discussed here.)

[talzara]

My husband has a 403 B retirement account with TIAA (1/3 is invested in TIAA traditional) thru his employer and one ROTH account with Vanguard (small amount). He is planning to retire in 2030 at 67. Most likely we will annualize all his TIAA traditional amount. I have all my retirement accounts with Fidelity and will retire in 2030 as well. I would like to have some advise on retirements consolidation. I can think of 3 possible options: 1) Leave all his 403 B retirement with TIAA still keep his Roth with Vanguard. 2) Move majority of his 403 B to Vanguard and keep only the annuity with TIAA? 3) Keep only his annuity with TIAA, move rest of his accounts to Fidelity so we will only have Fidelity & TIAA accounts in retirement. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Since you haven't posted which investment options are available in the TIAA account, there's no way to make a recommendation.

Some TIAA plans have very good investment options, especially large universities. Some TIAA plans have only high-expense CREF annuities, mostly small colleges that are in the worst tier.

If your husband has the first type of plan, leave it at TIAA. If he has the second type of plan, move it to Fidelity or Vanguard.

[bei22000]

If you annuitize all his holdings at TIAA, it might be fair to say that the TIAA account will become less of a burden (I mean, in terms of simplifying your financial lives ... ) than it would otherwise be. Because IRAs and 403(b)'s can have different taxation rules and/or lawsuit protection in certain states (for example, in NJ, where I live), a few investors might avoid or delay consolidation of 403(b)'s.

It's important to say what the alphabetic code for his TIAA Employer account is: like RA, SRA, RC, RCP, or whatever. That's because it could affect how "cashable" his TIAA Traditional holdings are.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find professional guidance about TIAA, other than from TIAA. Despite how many zillions of people have TIAA, their products are not well understood outside the Not For Profit employer sphere. I say that because of the next statement I'll make, which you may find hard to confirm (!):

TIAA annuitizations are often at more favorable rates than open-market, "big bad insurance companies" offer. If you are determined, or already decided to annuitize (not telling you WHAT to do ... ), I recommend doing so at TIAA.

Note also that TIAA offers both FIXED annuities and VARIABLE annuities. Because Bogleheads are, in general, conservative investors, variable annuities are not discussed here that often. So I'm not urging you to pick one or the other, but just making sure you know that both options are available. Variable annuity payouts are not for every investor/family/couple. (Note that CREF Stock, for example, is technically a variable annuity because of 403(b) tax law. But if you do not choose to annuitize it for a life payout, it has NONE of the "bad" features of a variable annuity, as would be discussed here.)

We will annuitize only 1/3 of his 403 B. Not all

[Harmanic]

There is no wrong answer. I personally chose option 3, putting my investments in Fidelity other than TIAA Traditional. Fidelity has a great selection of low cost funds that no other broker and beat IMO. However, TIAA Traditional is also the best annuity on the market.

[bei22000]

My husband has a 403 B retirement account with TIAA (1/3 is invested in TIAA traditional) thru his employer and one ROTH account with Vanguard (small amount). He is planning to retire in 2030 at 67. Most likely we will annualize all his TIAA traditional amount. I have all my retirement accounts with Fidelity and will retire in 2030 as well. I would like to have some advise on retirements consolidation. I can think of 3 possible options: 1) Leave all his 403 B retirement with TIAA still keep his Roth with Vanguard. 2) Move majority of his 403 B to Vanguard and keep only the annuity with TIAA? 3) Keep only his annuity with TIAA, move rest of his accounts to Fidelity so we will only have Fidelity & TIAA accounts in retirement. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Since you haven't posted which investment options are available in the TIAA account, there's no way to make a recommendation.

Some TIAA plans have very good investment options, especially large universities. Some TIAA plans have only high-expense CREF annuities, mostly small colleges that are in the worst tier.

If your husband has the first type of plan, leave it at TIAA. If he has the second type of plan, move it to Fidelity or Vanguard.

He works for a large university. currently all the funds are low cost funds. If there is no obvious reason, we will probably stick to TIAA for his retirement account. Thank for your feedback.

[bei22000]

If you annuitize all his holdings at TIAA, it might be fair to say that the TIAA account will become less of a burden (I mean, in terms of simplifying your financial lives ... ) than it would otherwise be. Because IRAs and 403(b)'s can have different taxation rules and/or lawsuit protection in certain states (for example, in NJ, where I live), a few investors might avoid or delay consolidation of 403(b)'s.

It's important to say what the alphabetic code for his TIAA Employer account is: like RA, SRA, RC, RCP, or whatever. That's because it could affect how "cashable" his TIAA Traditional holdings are.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find professional guidance about TIAA, other than from TIAA. Despite how many zillions of people have TIAA, their products are not well understood outside the Not For Profit employer sphere. I say that because of the next statement I'll make, which you may find hard to confirm (!):

TIAA annuitizations are often at more favorable rates than open-market, "big bad insurance companies" offer. If you are determined, or already decided to annuitize (not telling you WHAT to do ... ), I recommend doing so at TIAA.

Note also that TIAA offers both FIXED annuities and VARIABLE annuities. Because Bogleheads are, in general, conservative investors, variable annuities are not discussed here that often. So I'm not urging you to pick one or the other, but just making sure you know that both options are available. Variable annuity payouts are not for every investor/family/couple. (Note that CREF Stock, for example, is technically a variable annuity because of 403(b) tax law. But if you do not choose to annuitize it for a life payout, it has NONE of the "bad" features of a variable annuity, as would be discussed here.)

Thanks for the elaboration on the annuities. I will probably consult a guy name Gregory C. Shepard in KY who is specialized in TIAA later but not sure yet. the website is https://www.safinancialservices.com/

[bei22000]

There is no wrong answer. I personally chose option 3, putting my investments in Fidelity other than TIAA Traditional. Fidelity has a great selection of low cost funds that no other broker and beat IMO. However, TIAA Traditional is also the best annuity on the market.

That was my first thought since all my retirement accounts are with Fidelity.

[MathWizard]

Since you haven't posted which investment options are available in the TIAA account, there's no way to make a recommendation.

Some TIAA plans have very good investment options, especially large universities. Some TIAA plans have only high-expense CREF annuities, mostly small colleges that are in the worst tier.

If your husband has the first type of plan, leave it at TIAA. If he has the second type of plan, move it to Fidelity or Vanguard.

He works for a large university. currently all the funds are low cost funds. If there is no obvious reason, we will probably stick to TIAA for his retirement account. Thank for your feedback.

Similar situation as your husband.
I'm mainly doing #1 . #3 also seems like a reasonable option.

My 403b is in the lowest cost tier (lowest ERs),
TIAA has an office in town, and I have access to
an advisor for free, which my wife would have when
I'm not around

I'm keeping most of my 403b at TIAA and plan to annuitize TIAA Traditional when I've completed Roth conversions.

My Roth IRA is at Vanguard along with my wife's.

We will stay with Vanguard or possibly move these to
Charles Schwab (CS) which has an office nearby
(Fidelity does not, otherwise I might have gone with Fidelity).

I will transfer some (probably $50K to 150K) from the 403b
to an IRA so that I can do QCDs from it.

Consolidating is a good idea for simplicity. If the expense ratios
for IRAs were less at TIAA (.42% for equity index) I'd consolidate at
TIAA. IRAs are in the most expensive tier.

[crefwatch]

We will annuitize only 1/3 of his 403 B. Not all

Thanks, that makes a big difference. We don't know your exact financial situation, but the decision to annuitize usually indicates either insufficient income with only a 3%-4% WIthdrawal Rate, OR a desire for a firm "floor" of income to "sleep well" in retirement.

Note that if inflation, or other needs develop, you can always do additional annuitization(s), which can be expected (depending on prevailing interest rates at that later time) to yield much more income, simply because both Joint Annuitants will be older. It's a matter of actuarial tables, not health or vigor. We don't know, however, the "type" of TIAA Traditional that may or may not be left after the first annuitization. It's possible that you won't have full access (I mean for cash dollars; you can always annuitize another portion) to that particular slice of assets if there is a future need, say uncovered healthcare, a new roof, or skilled nursing care needs.

It's not that hard to find complaints about Fidelity and Vanguard here, if you look hard enough. But TIAA produces more complaints, and does have complex products. So I'm not opposed to moving the remaining assets to another provider, IF you are certain you will not want to annuitize anything else, ever. It's not your situation, but I do not recommend that people without a relationship with TIAA seek one, although I DID consolidate all my Qualified (tax-deferred) accounts there, as did my wife.

The other thing we might need to know is (referring to the post by MathWizard) what his current expense ratios are like, and what products he has available. For example, my first employer ('74-'79) finally added a few Vanguard index funds, with a total (complexly arrived at ... ) ER of 0.09%. So I don't need to know the ER of CREF Equity Index when that Vanguard option is available! To be clearer, some 403(b)'s, particularly RC and RCP accounts, can have incredibly low ERs for some attractive investment menu items.

MathWizard wrote:

My 403b is in the lowest cost tier (lowest ERs),

TIAA has an office in town, and I have access to
an advisor for free, which my wife would have when
I'm not around

I'm keeping most of my 403b at TIAA and plan to annuitize TIAA Traditional when I've completed Roth conversions.

Consolidating is a good idea for simplicity. If the expense ratios
for IRAs were less at TIAA (.42% for equity index) I'd consolidate at
TIAA. IRAs are in the most expensive tier.

All of which are relevant to your question. If you consolidate from other companies TO TIAA, it is likely that he will have to open an IRA at TIAA. But while TIAA Traditional is fully liquid there, it tends to have a lower interest rate payout. (Can't compare unless you look at a Quarterly Statement and tell us the alpha code for the 403(b) account.)

Although the CREF VA Accounts are, indeed, the highest, R1 Expense Ratio in an IRA, unlike TIAA Traditional, there is no penalty for buying them just before annuitizing-assuming you WANT a Variable Annuity payout, which I cautioned about in my previous post.

[bei22000]

We will annuitize only 1/3 of his 403 B. Not all

Thanks, that makes a big difference. We don't know your exact financial situation, but the decision to annuitize usually indicates either insufficient income with only a 3%-4% WIthdrawal Rate, OR a desire for a firm "floor" of income to "sleep well" in retirement.

Note that if inflation, or other needs develop, you can always do additional annuitization(s), which can be expected (depending on prevailing interest rates at that later time) to yield much more income, simply because both Joint Annuitants will be older. It's a matter of actuarial tables, not health or vigor. We don't know, however, the "type" of TIAA Traditional that may or may not be left after the first annuitization. It's possible that you won't have full access (I mean for cash dollars; you can always annuitize another portion) to that particular slice of assets if there is a future need, say uncovered healthcare, a new roof, or skilled nursing care needs.

It's not that hard to find complaints about Fidelity and Vanguard here, if you look hard enough. But TIAA produces more complaints, and does have complex products. So I'm not opposed to moving the remaining assets to another provider, IF you are certain you will not want to annuitize anything else, ever. It's not your situation, but I do not recommend that people without a relationship with TIAA seek one, although I DID consolidate all my Qualified (tax-deferred) accounts there, as did my wife.

The other thing we might need to know is (referring to the post by MathWizard) what his current expense ratios are like, and what products he has available. For example, my first employer ('74-'79) finally added a few Vanguard index funds, with a total (complexly arrived at ... ) ER of 0.09%. So I don't need to know the ER of CREF Equity Index when that Vanguard option is available! To be clearer, some 403(b)'s, particularly RC and RCP accounts, can have incredibly low ERs for some attractive investment menu items.

MathWizard wrote:

My 403b is in the lowest cost tier (lowest ERs),

TIAA has an office in town, and I have access to
an advisor for free, which my wife would have when
I'm not around

I'm keeping most of my 403b at TIAA and plan to annuitize TIAA Traditional when I've completed Roth conversions.

Consolidating is a good idea for simplicity. If the expense ratios
for IRAs were less at TIAA (.42% for equity index) I'd consolidate at
TIAA. IRAs are in the most expensive tier.

All of which are relevant to your question. If you consolidate from other companies TO TIAA, it is likely that he will have to open an IRA at TIAA. But while TIAA Traditional is fully liquid there, it tends to have a lower interest rate payout. (Can't compare unless you look at a Quarterly Statement and tell us the alpha code for the 403(b) account.)

Although the CREF VA Accounts are, indeed, the highest, R1 Expense Ratio in an IRA, unlike TIAA Traditional, there is no penalty for buying them just before annuitizing-assuming you WANT a Variable Annuity payout, which I cautioned about in my previous post.

Thanks for the insights which are helpful. Since most of his 403 B funds are Vanguards, the ER is low. We will stick to option #1 at least for a while.

[ResearchMed]

Consolidating is a good idea for simplicity. If the expense ratios
for IRAs were less at TIAA (.42% for equity index) I'd consolidate at
TIAA. IRAs are in the most expensive tier.

If you are considering having money at TIAA in an IRA, that's probably not money you plan to annuitize, correct?
And if you have money in a TIAA IRA, then you probably have access to a huge number of mutual funds, plus ETFs, etc., offered by mutual fund families other than TIAA.

I don't think there are "expense ratios for IRAs" (?). There are expense ratios for the assorted funds (mutual funds or ETFs) that are held within an IRA, and these ERs may be higher or lower than for funds held in other accounts. For TIAA's own funds, yes, the ERs are often higher if one holds them in an IRA rather than in a 403b type account. However, once one can remove money from a 403b type account and use an IRA, this is no longer a problem.

For non-TIAA funds, such as "an equity index" (e.g., VTSAX or VTI), the expense ratios can be in the low single digits, nothing close to .42%. For VTI, the ER is .03%, and for VTSAX it is .04%.
Both of these can be held in an IRA at TIAA.
(In some cases, the mutual fund version, VTSAX, can be held within a 403b, too.)
That's one advantage of moving money out of a 403b account, where plans can hold choices captive, especially if one is still working and can *not* move money out.
But your are already mentioning IRAs at TIAA, so that's not a problem for you in this situation.

At TIAA, there would probably be a modest transaction fee for VTSAX, but even something like $20 or $35+, etc., almost disappears when there are infrequent transactions with large total amounts per fund.
(IF a 403b allows some Vanguard funds within its "core" section, there probably are not any transaction fees at all. This would be up to the Employer when they set up their 403b plan,)

And I'm not sure there is a strong reason to keep the mutual fund rather than the ETF version if one cares about the very small expense ratio difference, although the difference between .03% and .04% is likely inconsequential IF one preferred or needed the mutual fund version.

These are among the advantages of having an IRA rather than needing to deal with 403b/401k/etc., types of restrictions on what investments one holds.
However, I'm not aware that there is any reason to need to pay expense ratios such as .42% for an "equity index" fund at TIAA.

We have 403b, TIRA, Roth IRA, and small taxable brokerage accounts at TIAA, so we have a fair amount of experience with them.

RM

[MathWizard]

Consolidating is a good idea for simplicity. If the expense ratios
for IRAs were less at TIAA (.42% for equity index) I'd consolidate at
TIAA. IRAs are in the most expensive tier.

If you are considering having money at TIAA in an IRA, that's probably not money you plan to annuitize, correct?
And if you have money in a TIAA IRA, then you probably have access to a huge number of mutual funds, plus ETFs, etc., offered by mutual fund families other than TIAA.

I don't think there are "expense ratios for IRAs" (?). There are expense ratios for the assorted funds (mutual funds or ETFs) that are held within an IRA, and these ERs may be higher or lower than for funds held in other accounts. For TIAA's own funds, yes, the ERs are often higher if one holds them in an IRA rather than in a 403b type account. However, once one can remove money from a 403b type account and use an IRA, this is no longer a problem.

For non-TIAA funds, such as "an equity index" (e.g., VTSAX or VTI), the expense ratios can be in the low single digits, nothing close to .42%. For VTI, the ER is .03%, and for VTSAX it is .04%.
Both of these can be held in an IRA at TIAA.
(In some cases, the mutual fund version, VTSAX, can be held within a 403b, too.)
That's one advantage of moving money out of a 403b account, where plans can hold choices captive, especially if one is still working and can *not* move money out.
But your are already mentioning IRAs at TIAA, so that's not a problem for you in this situation.

At TIAA, there would probably be a modest transaction fee for VTSAX, but even something like $20 or $35+, etc., almost disappears when there are infrequent transactions with large total amounts per fund.
(IF a 403b allows some Vanguard funds within its "core" section, there probably are not any transaction fees at all. This would be up to the Employer when they set up their 403b plan,)

And I'm not sure there is a strong reason to keep the mutual fund rather than the ETF version if one cares about the very small expense ratio difference, although the difference between .03% and .04% is likely inconsequential IF one preferred or needed the mutual fund version.

These are among the advantages of having an IRA rather than needing to deal with 403b/401k/etc., types of restrictions on what investments one holds.
However, I'm not aware that there is any reason to need to pay expense ratios such as .42% for an "equity index" fund at TIAA.

We have 403b, TIRA, Roth IRA, and small taxable brokerage accounts at TIAA, so we have a fair amount of experience with them.

RM

Things may have changed, allowing for other lower ER funds,but
equity index in the highest cost tier R1 is 0.41%

The same equity index in r4 has an ER of 0.03%

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s ... 39a61cc4e4

The tiers are based on the size of the accounts. My large university has billions in 403b funds gets the equity the lowest tier, but
IRAs are very small, so they get the highest cost tier R1.

If I could get index funds in an IRA at TIAA it would be nice.

[ResearchMed]

...
Things may have changed, allowing for other lower ER funds,but
equity index in the highest cost tier R1 is 0.41%

The same equity index in r4 has an ER of 0.03%

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s ... 39a61cc4e4

The tiers are based on the size of the accounts. My large university has billions in 403b funds gets the equity the lowest tier, but
IRAs are very small, so they get the highest cost tier R1.

If I could get index funds in an IRA at TIAA it would be nice.

Why does your IRA at TIAA have any restrictions due to the 403b plan?

As for IRAs being "very small", those are "individual" accounts (the "I" in "IRA"), so compared with 403b type accounts, almost all IRAs are indeed very small. But how does this relate to the expense ratios of all of the possible holdings in an IRA or a brokerage account?

ETA: IF your 403b has a brokerage option, then you should also have lots of lower-cost choices there, too.

RM

[MathWizard]

...
Things may have changed, allowing for other lower ER funds,but
equity index in the highest cost tier R1 is 0.41%

The same equity index in r4 has an ER of 0.03%

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s ... 39a61cc4e4

The tiers are based on the size of the accounts. My large university has billions in 403b funds gets the equity the lowest tier, but
IRAs are very small, so they get the highest cost tier R1.

If I could get index funds in an IRA at TIAA it would be nice.

Why does your IRA at TIAA have any restrictions due to the 403b plan?

As for IRAs being "very small", those are "individual" accounts (the "I" in "IRA"), so compared with 403b type accounts, almost all IRAs are indeed very small. But how does this relate to the expense ratios of all of the possible holdings in an IRA or a brokerage account?

ETA: IF your 403b has a brokerage option, then you should also have lots of lower-cost choices there, too.

RM

All I can tell you is that in 2008, when the different R# tiers were implemented, the expense ratio for the equity index fund in
my Roth IRA at TIAA went from 0.22% to 0.69% . It later went down
after I moved the Roth IRA at Vanguard investing in VTSAX which had an ER then of 0.05% .

I had a letter at the time explaining the different R# tiers being assigned based on the amount of money that each institution
had at TIAA - CREF.

IRAs being a separate account completely separate from the 403b
didn't enjoy the lower ERs of my 403b.

If you have a Roth IRA at TIAA , I would appreciate it if you could post an example of an investment in your Roth IRA along with the ER.

As long as I can easily make QCDs from an IRA at TIAA, that would be a great option for consolidation.

Thanks.

[ResearchMed]

If you have a Roth IRA at TIAA , I would appreciate it if you could post an example of an investment in your Roth IRA along with the ER.

Let's back up a moment.

Is there some reason that your IRA at TIAA has restrictions such that you can only get TIAA mutual funds?
You can't get mutual funds (or even ETFs or individual stocks, not that most of us would want those) from other mutual fund families?

(I'm not trying to claim that our expense ratios in a TIAA IRA are particularly low for TIAA mutual funds; ours would be the same as anyone else's.)

RM

[MathWizard]

If you have a Roth IRA at TIAA , I would appreciate it if you could post an example of an investment in your Roth IRA along with the ER.

Let's back up a moment.

Is there some reason that your IRA at TIAA has restrictions such that you can only get TIAA mutual funds?
You can't get mutual funds (or even ETFs or individual stocks, not that most of us would want those) from other mutual fund families?

(I'm not trying to claim that our expense ratios in a TIAA IRA are particularly low for TIAA mutual funds; ours would be the same as anyone else's.)

RM

There were no options other than TIAA-Cref funds when I left.

My 403b does allow at least some Vanguard funds which I
do invest in. I know that some are not available.

[ResearchMed]

Let's back up a moment.

Is there some reason that your IRA at TIAA has restrictions such that you can only get TIAA mutual funds?
You can't get mutual funds (or even ETFs or individual stocks, not that most of us would want those) from other mutual fund families?

(I'm not trying to claim that our expense ratios in a TIAA IRA are particularly low for TIAA mutual funds; ours would be the same as anyone else's.)

RM

There were no options other than TIAA-Cref funds when I left.

My 403b does allow at least some Vanguard funds which I
do invest in. I know that some are not available.

The 403b plan "rules" shouldn't have any bearing on a TIRA or Roth IRA.
The 403b does have restrictions, and the type of restrictions is usually set by the Employer.

But the Employer shouldn't have any impact at all in what you invest in outside of their 403b plan.
At least, that's how it has been with our 403b plans at Vanguard, Fidelity, and TIAA. What we did with "other" accounts (non-403b, such as TIRA or Roth IRA or simple taxable brokerage accounts) at those financial firms was our choice entirely, before there was a 403b plan there, while there was a 403b plan there, and after the 403b plan moved elsewhere.

RM

[daleddm]

In my large institutional TIAA 403b, the Nuveen fund TILIX is available at .05 while in my IRA only TIRIX is available - exact same fund except cost is .30

I've setup the brokerage window in the IRA (too) but still can't see that the TILIX is available. And the TIRIX at .3 is the least expensive thing available by a considerable margin. A rep claimed that if I sold some of the TIRIX in the IRA, when it finally settles I "should" be able to see more options on the buy side. As with too many TIAA reps on too many occasions, that may or may not be accurate.

[student]

If you annuitize all his holdings at TIAA, it might be fair to say that the TIAA account will become less of a burden (I mean, in terms of simplifying your financial lives ... ) than it would otherwise be. Because IRAs and 403(b)'s can have different taxation rules and/or lawsuit protection in certain states (for example, in NJ, where I live), a few investors might avoid or delay consolidation of 403(b)'s.

It's important to say what the alphabetic code for his TIAA Employer account is: like RA, SRA, RC, RCP, or whatever. That's because it could affect how "cashable" his TIAA Traditional holdings are.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find professional guidance about TIAA, other than from TIAA. Despite how many zillions of people have TIAA, their products are not well understood outside the Not For Profit employer sphere. I say that because of the next statement I'll make, which you may find hard to confirm (!):

TIAA annuitizations are often at more favorable rates than open-market, "big bad insurance companies" offer. If you are determined, or already decided to annuitize (not telling you WHAT to do ... ), I recommend doing so at TIAA.

Note also that TIAA offers both FIXED annuities and VARIABLE annuities. Because Bogleheads are, in general, conservative investors, variable annuities are not discussed here that often. So I'm not urging you to pick one or the other, but just making sure you know that both options are available. Variable annuity payouts are not for every investor/family/couple. (Note that CREF Stock, for example, is technically a variable annuity because of 403(b) tax law. But if you do not choose to annuitize it for a life payout, it has NONE of the "bad" features of a variable annuity, as would be discussed here.)

Thanks for the elaboration on the annuities. I will probably consult a guy name Gregory C. Shepard in KY who is specialized in TIAA later but not sure yet. the website is https://www.safinancialservices.com/

I watched many of his videos. He is knowledgeable. He even replied to my email when I asked him something in his video. You may also want to take a look at this book. https://www.amazon.com/Retire-Secure-Pr ... 147&sr=8-1 Only $1.99 for the electronic version.

[bei22000]

Thanks for the elaboration on the annuities. I will probably consult a guy name Gregory C. Shepard in KY who is specialized in TIAA later but not sure yet. the website is https://www.safinancialservices.com/

I watched many of his videos. He is knowledgeable. He even replied to my email when I asked him something in his video. You may also want to take a look at this book. https://www.amazon.com/Retire-Secure-Pr ... 147&sr=8-1 Only $1.99 for the electronic version.

Never heard of the book. Interesting! Definitely will get the book to read. Thank you so much.

[ResearchMed]

If you have a Roth IRA at TIAA , I would appreciate it if you could post an example of an investment in your Roth IRA along with the ER.

Mathwizard:

I just went into one of our TIAA Roth IRA accounts (we each have one, in addition to our 403b accounts; we also have TIRA and taxable brokerage accounts at TIAA, but with very small balances).

I was able to start the process to purchase Fidelity's Technology mutual fund (FSPTX), with no difficulty. I simply typed in the ticker letters, and it autocompleted to verify which fund I wanted to purchase.
Or I could have purchased VUSXX, a Vanguard fund with a very low ER (but that's no surprise as it's a Treasury type of money-market account). This is the same as holding VUSXX within the 403b, by the way.

NOTE: As I suggested above, it does appear that one should have money in some sort of settlement-type account. The software "offered" me the choice of taking money from a TIAA "money market account" that was *already* in the account if I wanted to complete the transaction.
So IF you only have money in other mutual funds that are not of the "cash-equivalent" type, perhaps the system doesn't "see" money available to purchase outside mutual funds? (That is just a guess.)
I did enter a few other mutual fund symbols (including other than Fidelity), and all autocompleted as the software started to process a transaction.

Needless to say, our accounts and your account could be different. But it isn't clear why a "non-employer" IRA fund would be different for us than for some other member of the public.

RM

[MathWizard]

If you have a Roth IRA at TIAA , I would appreciate it if you could post an example of an investment in your Roth IRA along with the ER.

Mathwizard:

I just went into one of our TIAA Roth IRA accounts (we each have one, in addition to our 403b accounts; we also have TIRA and taxable brokerage accounts at TIAA, but with very small balances).

I was able to start the process to purchase Fidelity's Technology mutual fund (FSPTX), with no difficulty. I simply typed in the ticker letters, and it autocompleted to verify which fund I wanted to purchase.
Or I could have purchased VUSXX, a Vanguard fund with a very low ER (but that's no surprise as it's a Treasury type of money-market account). This is the same as holding VUSXX within the 403b, by the way.

NOTE: As I suggested above, it does appear that one should have money in some sort of settlement-type account. The software "offered" me the choice of taking money from a TIAA "money market account" that was *already* in the account if I wanted to complete the transaction.
So IF you only have money in other mutual funds that are not of the "cash-equivalent" type, perhaps the system doesn't "see" money available to purchase outside mutual funds? (That is just a guess.)
I did enter a few other mutual fund symbols (including other than Fidelity), and all autocompleted as the software started to process a transaction.

Needless to say, our accounts and your account could be different. But it isn't clear why a "non-employer" IRA fund would be different for us than for some other member of the public.

RM

Thanks for this detailed response.

I'll check with my TIAA representative on what can be set up

Having all investments in one place would simplify things.

[crefwatch]

I'll check with my TIAA representative on what can be set up

Having all investments in one place would simplify things.

MathWizard, I might have missed it, but did you say whether you have a Brokerage window option in your TIAA IRA?

That makes a big difference in mutual fund availability, even disregarding modest fixed-amount purchase fees for NON [No-Transaction-Fee] funds. Note that automatic proportional RMDs are taken only from the original IRA "wrapper" or "retirement" IRA account, and don't take Brokerage platform holdings into account. And there are sometimes delays in moving money between the Brokerage and the wrapper, for example for Roth Conversions.

[MathWizard]

I'll check with my TIAA representative on what can be set up

Having all investments in one place would simplify things.

MathWizard, I might have missed it, but did you say whether you have a Brokerage window option in your TIAA IRA?

That makes a big difference in mutual fund availability, even disregarding modest fixed-amount purchase fees for NON [No-Transaction-Fee] funds. Note that automatic proportional RMDs are taken only from the original IRA "wrapper" or "retirement" IRA account, and don't take Brokerage platform holdings into account. And there are sometimes delays in moving money between the Brokerage and the wrapper, for example for Roth Conversions.

IRAs are all at Vanguard. 403b and 457 at TIAA.

Will check what is available at TIAA now?

[CloseEnough]

I will have a somewhat similar question to answer and currently have accounts at Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity and TIAA. However, I do not have a plan to annuitize my TIAA which is 100% invested in TIAA Traditional. Even thought that is the case, I will likely hold onto the TIAA account, perhaps indefinitely, because I view having TIAA Traditional as an investment option as unique and unavailable at the other brokerages. So my decision will be which of the other brokerages to consolidate. I will consolidate out of Vanguard because it is the smallest account and my least favorite of the brokerages. And then make a decision between Schwab (where I have more accounts and funds) and Fidelity, keeping TIAA. So get down to two brokerages. And perhaps at a much later point, consolidate out of TIAA too.