TIAA Maintains Highest Possible Rating From Moody's

Reaffirms TIAA with Aaa Rating; Assigns Aaa Long-Term Debt Rating to TIAA Global Markets Notes

New York, August 19, 2008

TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, medical and cultural fields, today announced that Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has affirmed its Aaa ratings, the highest possible, on TIAA and its affiliated companies.

In addition, Moody’s assigned a Aaa long-term debt rating to TIAA Global Markets, Inc.’s (TGM) issuance of $500 million of senior debt maturing on July 15, 2013 with a coupon of 4.95%.

“At TIAA-CREF we understand that maintaining financial strength – the staying power by which we will provide our clients the option of guaranteed lifetime income &nash; is necessary to fulfilling our mission to meet our clients financial needs to and through retirement,” said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, TIAA-CREF. “TIAA-CREF is one of a select few companies to hold the highest possible ratings from all major credit ratings agencies, including Moody’s, and believe the financial strength that these ratings speak to is an integral part of the value we bring our clients .”

Moody’s ratings affirmation also applies to the Aaa ratings of TIAA’s underlying companies: the insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings of TIAA and its subsidiary TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company, and the senior debt rating of TGM, which is based on an unconditional guarantee of TGM’s notes by TIAA. The outlook for all of the ratings is stable.

According to Moody’s, TIAA’s Aaa ratings are based upon the company’s dominant position in providing retirement services in the education and research institution market, as well as its strong capital base, fees that are among the lowest of variable annuities and mutual funds , and its unique liability structure and position as one of the largest retirement systems in the United States.

Moody’s also notes that it expects TIAA to continue to maintain its market leadership position because of its key competitive strengths and long-standing customer ties as well as TIAA-CREF’s additional products and services including mutual funds, Section 529 college-saving plans, and trust company.

TIAA-CREF’s clients include more than 15,000 institutions and more than 3.4 million of their employees in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

TGM is a directly, wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA. The TGM notes are subordinate to TIAA’s policyholder obligations. The net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used to purchase additional high-quality investment securities. Including this new debt, TGM will have $3.25 billion in notes outstanding.

About TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF (www.tiaa-cref.org) is a national financial services organization with more than $420 billion in combined assets under management (6/30/08) and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

Chad Peterson, Director, Corporate Media Relations
cpeterson@tiaa-cref.org, 212 916-4808 Cell: 917 715-9083

Abby Aylman Cohen, Manager, Corporate Media Relations
aacohen@tiaa-cref.org, 212 916-4381 Cell: 917 596-4758