Solutions for Everyone
In addition to eligibility-dependent retirement plans, IRAs, and Keoghs, the TIAA-CREF family offers everyone a range of low-cost, high-quality investment and insurance solutions, including after-tax annuities, mutual funds, 529 college savings plans, and life and long-term care insurance.

Expanded Eligibility
The revocation of TIAA-CREF's tax exemption in 1997 spurred our transformation from a pension system for colleges and universities to a group of financial services companies that could provide a comprehensive range of financial solutions for everyone. At the same time, it in no way altered our foundling mission of providing retirement and supplemental retirement plans at eligible institutions and, by extension, IRAs and Keoghs for eligible individuals.

What has changed is the range of eligible institutions and, in turn, of eligible individuals. We are no longer limited to working only with the education and research community. Under the new eligibility criteria, we can now provide our retirement planning solutions to all nonprofit institutions and governmental agencies and their employees.

We have been finding, as well, that with the expanded eligibility criteria for individuals, advisors who take the time to inquire of their clients are learning about prior work history or the work or work history that may make the client eligible, of a partner or spouse. We recommended you take this step, which can expand the range of solutions you can make available to your client. For more information, call us at 1 888 842-0318, weekdays, 8:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m., ET.

Individual Eligibility
An investor is eligible for TIAA-CREF IRAs and Keoghs if:

•	He or she is an existing participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan with TIAA-CREF.
•	He or she is an employee, retiree (defined as over age 55 with at least 5 years of service), or trustee of any eligible institution. In this case, the person is not a plan participant. An eligible institution is an organization that meets our criteria to offer TIAA-CREF-funded retirement plans, regardless of whether TIAA-CREF is actually available there. Examples include nonprofit colleges and universities, public and private elementary and secondary schools, teaching hospitals, museums, libraries, and certain other nonprofit institutions. Governmental entities, including political subdivisions and instrumentalities of a local, state, or the federal government, are also eligible.
•	TIAA (as apart from TIAA-CREF or other companies in the TIAA-CREF family) offers individual insurance contracts (including Teachers Personal Annuity and TIAA life insurance contracts) to eligible individuals only, and ownership of these products will make someone eligible for TIAA-CREF IRAs and Keoghs. Please note, however, that ownership of products offered by the TIAA-CREF family of companies to the general public does not make an individual eligible for TIAA-CREF IRAs and Keoghs. This includes TIAA-CREF Mutual Funds and products from the TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., and the TIAA-CREF Trust Company. Please speak with a Retirement Plan Specialist at 1 888 842-0318 to determine which type of contract your client owns.
•	He or she is the spouse or partner of anyone eligible to open a TIAA-CREF IRA or Keogh.

Expanded Institutional Eligibility
TIAA-CREF-funded retirement and supplemental retirement plans are no longer available solely to nonprofit education and research institutions. All nonprofit institutions and governmental entities organized in the United States are eligible.

•	An eligible nonprofit organization is an entity that is 1) organized as a not-for-profit corporation under the Not-for-Profit Law of any state or the District of Columbia, or 2) classified as one of the following types of organizations under the Internal Revenue Code: 501(c)(1), 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), 501(c)(6), 501(c)(7), 501(c)(9) and 501(c)(10)
•	U.S. governmental entities include the federal government of the United States, state governments, the District of Columbia, and local governments (i.e., cities or other municipalities) in the 50 states, as well as federal, state, city or municipal agencies. Examples of eligible governmental employers include: º   Public school districts º   State or municipal agencies, such as transit or sanitation departments º   The U.S. Postal Service º   Municipal fire departments º   State or municipal police departments º   State parks departments º   The U.S. Forest Service º   The U.S. Military