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.
