Independent Benefits Council Selects TIAA-CREF and GWN Securities to Help Florida Educators Build Retirement Security
Centralized Design Reduces Fees for Educators in Florida K-12 School Districts, Opens Access to Objective Advice via Local Registered Investment Advisors
New York, March 11, 2011
TIAA-CREF today announced its selection by the Independent Benefits Council (IBC) as a retirement plan provider for the Florida Model Plan, a program designed to streamline 403(b) plan management for the over 350,000 K-12 educators across the state.
The Florida Model Plan will be administered by TIAA-CREF and GWN Securities (GWN), a participating advisor in the TIAA-CREF Retirement Advisory Alliance. This approach will offer Florida’s K-12 school districts access to a centralized plan, the pricing benefits of pooled assets and streamlined plan administration.
“The Independent Benefits Council, through the formation of the Florida Model Plan, is addressing an issue that we see K-12 districts struggling with across the country -- an overwhelming number of investment choices across a variety of plan sizes with a wide array of pricing,” said Bruce Corcoran, managing director, K-12 market, TIAA-CREF. “The Florida Model Plan is more efficient for both the plan sponsor and the educator which, over time, can potentially lead to more retirement savings and in turn income in retirement.”
Educators participating in the plan will have a variety of high-quality, low-cost investment options from TIAA-CREF and other investment providers as well as communication, education and objective advice provided locally by GWN, a Palm Beach, Florida-based registered investment advisor with more than 80 advisors at over 20 offices statewide.
“For many years we have been dedicated to delivering high-quality services to the Florida community,” said Michael Pollakowski, Managing Director, GWN. “By participating in the TIAA-CREF Retirement Advisory Alliance, we’ll now be able to further serve the needs of Florida’s educators by offering them objective professional financial advice.”
Florida school districts will benefit from the following plan changes:
- Plan-level communication and education, high-touch local assistance and one-on-one financial advice available through GWN
- Access to TIAA-CREF web-based and call center counseling and advice services
- A choice of quality mutual funds and annuities, including access to guaranteed lifetime income , from TIAA-CREF and funds from other investment providers with no sales charges or surrender fees
About TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF (www.tiaa-cref.org) is a national financial services organization with $453 billion in combined assets under management (as of 12/31/10) and is the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.
Media Contact
Jeannine DeFoe, TIAA-CREF
jdefoe@tiaa-cref.org 212 913-3501 Cell: 917 837 2094
1 Guaranteed lifetime income is provided through annuities issued by and backed by the claims-paying ability of TIAA.
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