Taking Money From Your TIAA-CREF Accounts
Why do I need to fill out the spousal waiver section? The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires spousal consent for certain transactions. If your employer is subject to ERISA rules or has elected to adopt the provisions, your spouse must approve and sign off on certain transactions, such as withdrawals.
Your spouse must sign the waiver in front of a Notary or the designated Plan Representative if the institution requires a spousal waiver. Additionally, your spouse's signature cannot be dated before your signature.
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Where do I find my contract numbers? Your Contract Number is either your TIAA number or your CREF number, and can be found in two places: On your enrollment confirmation documents...
...and on your quarterly statement.
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How and when am I required to obtain Employer Authorization for a withdrawal?
Your employer’s plan rules generally determine when you are eligible to withdraw funds. For some plans, you’ll need to get your employer’s authorization before you can request a withdrawal.
For some plans, once you receive the employer authorization for your initial withdrawal, you can indicate "on file" for any future withdrawals.
A retirement specialist can help you determine whether or not you’ll need authorization from your employer, and give you the names of eligible signers. If it is required, you’ll need to either take, fax or send the form to your employer to complete the authorization before sending the form to TIAA-CREF.
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What steps are required to begin Retirement Income? Within a year of retirement, you should have a retirement illustration prepared. The illustration gives you a projection of your potential income through the various lifetime income choices. You can log into your account to create an illustration online or contact a retirement specialist to request the illustration.
You can also receive projections for systematic cash withdrawals, fixed-period income, minimum distributions and interest-only payments.
Within six months of retirement, you should contact TIAA-CREF to request the forms you’ll need to complete to begin receiving income.
Complete all sections of the forms, sign and return your completed forms to TIAA-CREF about 90 days before you want to begin receiving income. Be sure to include a record of age for you and annuity partner (if applicable) for any lifetime income choices.
If your plan is subject to spousal rights and you are married, be sure to complete the spousal waiver section. If you are unmarried, please fill out the unmarried determination.
If you have any questions or are unsure about any of the steps, call 1 800 842-2776 to speak with a retirement specialist.
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What is the difference between the Minimum Distribution Option (MDO) and requesting my required minimum distributions as cash withdrawals? The MDO is designed to automatically calculate and send you the minimum amount you’re required to withdraw each year. It’s the easiest way to make sure you’re meeting the federal distribution requirements.
If you do not set up MDO payments, you’ll need to calculate the amount you need to receive and request a cash withdrawal each year to comply with the federal requirements.
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Can I fax the withdrawal form? Generally, you can fax lump-sum cash withdrawal forms and systematic cash withdrawal forms for which you are receiving less than $50,000. Our fax number is 1 800 914-8922.
You cannot fax forms for lifetime income, fixed-period income, MDO, Transfer Payout Annuity or interest-only payments.
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Why is a Medallion Signature Guarantee required for certain Mutual Fund transactions? For certain transactions (for example, when you are redeeming shares within 30 days of changing your address, bank account or adding new services to an existing account), a Medallion Signature Guarantee is required for each owner of record on an account. This requirement is designed to protect you from fraud, and to comply with rules on stock transfers.
A Medallion Signature Guarantee is a written endorsement from an eligible guarantor institution that the signature(s) on the request is (are) valid. Certain commercial banks, trust companies, savings associations, credit unions and members of the United States stock exchange participate in the Medallion Signature Guarantee program.
No other form of signature verification will be accepted. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. For more information about when a signature guarantee is required, please call 1 800 842-2776 to speak with a retirement specialist.
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