Ok. That requirement is standard with all TIAA contracts at nonprofits, there's no special under the table deals. A base investment amount must go to TIAA Traditional, and any more can go to other securities like types of CREF stock. I'm sure that many savers just default to TIAA for the guaranteed return, without looking further at the payout limitations. My experience with TIAA customer service has been underwhelming, it still runs on paper and fax, wait times for payments and processing are ridiculously long. In one of her books Jane Bryant Quinn said that almost all the university economists she knows how fully into TIAA. Says a lot about that profession...
A relative of mine had a significant amount for many years in Lincoln National variable annuity 403b accounts, and rolling those over to outside IRAs was a huge pain -- delays, stalling, checks sent to new custodian that were not correctly filled out, etc.
@docfiddle Thanks for the clarification. Their rep was putting it on the university, and did a very poor job of explaining any of it to them. So that matches your description well!
You Should Know These 20 Popular Retirement Books and Podcasts according to smartasset:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-20-popular-retirement-books-110000459.html
@hecht790 you may find this funny. In your June post on the Asset Allocation thread, you recommended that I read Larry Swedroe's book "Your Complete Guide to a Successful & Secure Retirement – Chapter 3" about risk. I responded that I requested the book from my local library who said they no longer have the book. Well, it turns out that not only do I have that book in the personal library, I recommended it at the beginning of this very thread. Egg on my face ????. And yes Chapter 3 is very good!
@pizzaman, I purchased the book for chapter 10 (Asset Location). It is hard to find articles with substance on this topic. I like his book because it is practical, has clear checklists and priorities, and goes deeper (but not too deep) than the regular popular articles on the web.
Interesting article by a newly retired writer from Nerdwallet: https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2024/01/23/guest-perspective-retiring-wasnt-easy-even-after-years-of-writing-about-it/
She talks about a couple of books that sound interesting, I have not read them:
So I did what I do best: copious research. I found it hugely helpful to read O’Neill’s book, “Flipping a Switch: Your Guide to Happiness and Financial Security in Later Life.” Another good read is “Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will,” by Steve Lopez, my former Los Angeles Times colleague.
Bruce Larsen just came out with his updated for 2024 book "A Concise Guide to Taxes in Retirement". I highly recommend it.
There is a large group of people that have a common root: they bought into the John Bogle (the progenitor of Vanguard) ideas on passive investing. I've yet to come across any of his published descendants that I reject**. One outgrowth of the Bogle tree is a forum called bogleheads.org. The forum itself is a mixture, but their leading lights wrote a truly excellent wiki, and they have published (I think 3) books all titled 'boglehead guide to [...] that are worth their weight in gold. The Bogle tenets are pretty well known by now by personal finance nerds:
- Diversified, passive, low cost portfolio
- Location and tax efficiency
- Allocation and risk/volatility management
And yet I come across lots of people who have adopted the portfolio approach, but do not yet have a good handle on location and allocation. At least for me, an advantage that sets Pralana apart from other planning software is the underlying design that allows for, and to my mind gently encourages, smart location and allocation. At least one of the BH books goes over location and allocation in depth. I bought all three used for a couple dollars a piece.
**Wade Pfau has an open mind about annuities and reverse mortgages, while I for the most part do not. We agree to disagree, and I am happy to own and reference his book on just about any other topic.
I just finished reading "How to Craft a Resilient Retirement Income Plan" by James Mahaney, CFP, 2022. It is very good. At only 95 pages, it is a quick read. The book is broken down into risk factors: Paying high AUM fees, Longevity risk, Inflation, Investment risk (especially Sequency of Return Risk), Tax risk, and Long-tern care costs. He explains those risks and why they are a problem, then gives ways to reduce them. The main fix to most of these problems is (for a couple) using social security (SS) in conjunction with your IRA's, 401K, pensions if any, and your investments. Bottom line, the one with the largest PIA wait to age 70 to start SS. He doesn't go into the numerous exceptions that apply to 1% of the people that some other books do, hence the 95 pages, quite refreshing. He is on the Editorial Board at the Journal of Retirement, and apparently has published many research and white papers.
How to Retire by Christine Benz, the Fritz Gilbert book, and Mike Piper's Social Security Made Simple (and his app opensocialsecurity.com) were all great resources for me as I planned for and then ultimately retired.
Here are a couple links with best retirement planning books and some reviews:
https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/7-best-retirement-books
https://equalpathinvest.com/blog/best-retirement-planning-books-complete-guide-for-2025/
But, back to my original comments, if the insurance company is going to take a big pile of your money, invest it for their profit and dole out crumbs, why not just cut out the middleman and invest your big pile of money conservatively and wisely through a good, ethical, honest fee-only fiduciary advisor, or Vanguard's Personal Advisory Service, or a robo-advisor, or do it yourself with a little knowledge? Keep it simple. Keep it manageable. Keep it inexpensive.Then you get to leave it all behind to the kids, as it will likely grow far beyond what you need. Or go buy a beach house or nice RV.
I agree with your cautions about jumping in an annuity. Another worry on top of those you mentioned is that it has become almost impossible to find inflation adjusted annuities--and any guess of future needs opens you up to unexpected inflation.
I think it's a shame though, since in theory annuities play a crucial role for some people due to the fact they pay until you die. Other than social secruity, they are the ideal tool in theory to address longevity risk (sharing the "risk" of longevity leveraging that most people will not need it). Even the most conservative AA doesn't have that benefit.
But... as you noted in your post... the reality is different from the theory.
@jkandell To update my thoughts on annuities, the risks I outlined are even worse now, as we dismantle any/all regulations to protect consumers from financial fraud and abuse. I've seen too many cases of clients buying into annuities/permanent life policies through trusted US companies and then having them sold to offshore private equity. At that point, any protections are off the table. State "bailout" protections basically just try to find you another insurer for your policy. Good luck with that when they're all off-shore. State bailouts are also often pennies on the dollar as well.
I just read 10 Co$tly Medicare Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make by Danielle Kunkle Roberts, 2025. It is very good! I am turning 65 this year and I think I now have a very good handle on what I am going to do. Her company Boomer Benefits boomerbenefits.com are licensed Medicare agents (brokers) in 49 states (except for New York). That means they provide free support because the insurance companies pay them. I have not tried calling them with questions but I will soon.
