An RA contract is an individual contract issued to each plan participant. It is designed to be completely portable. This means that if your client changes jobs and his/her new employer plan permits funding with TIAA-CREF RA contracts, the new institution can make contributions to the existing RA contracts. An individual can also make after-tax, "self-remittal" contributions to an existing RA, regardless of his/her employment status. RA contracts provide for benefits to be taken as lifetime annuity income; however, an employing institution can choose to allow benefits to be taken in cash from the TIAA and CREF variable accounts. The institution determines the cash policy.

With the TIAA and CREF GRA, a certificate is issued to each plan participant; the institution itself owns the contract. Through riders, endorsements, and/or amendments, certificates may differ from plan to plan. The GRA is designed to provide cash payments and/or annuity income from both the guaranteed TIAA Traditional Annuity as well as the variable TIAA and CREF accounts. A GRA certificate is always issued according to the terms of a specific institution's plan and cannot accept contributions from another institution's plan should your client change jobs. Unlike RAs, GRA certificates aren't portable and can't accommodate self-remitted premiums.

Another type of plan is a voluntary TDA plan, under which employees make discretionary contributions to their retirement savings. TIAA-CREF's TDA contract is called a Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA), and it is issued on both an individual and a group basis. TDAs funded with SRA contracts accept only salary-reduction (pre-tax) contributions; your clients cannot remit to them independently, even if they have an existing SRA contract originally opened through an employer.

TIAA-CREF is required to file all our annuity contracts with state insurance departments. We cannot issue a contract for a specific product unless it has been approved by all of the necessary insurance departments. The regulatory agencies provide for consistency among annuity contracts and protect the rights of the annuity contract owners. Therefore some of the rules TIAA-CREF must abide by are part of the contract that the participant receives once he or she signs up with TIAA-CREF. If for any reason the individual does not approve of any part of the contract, he or she can cancel the contract within 30 days of issuance.

• How Do 403(b) Plans Compare to 401(k)s, IRAs, and Keoghs? • Contributions • IRS Rules and Taxation • Income and Distribution Options • Minimum Distributions		• Overview of Plan Provisions • Vesting • Contracts and Certificates • Rollovers • Minimum Distribution Calculator