Eligibility: Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
You are eligible for a TIAA-CREF IRA if you meet any of the following criteria:
- You or your spouse/domestic partner are:
- A current employee of any eligible institution1
- Retired2 from any eligible institution
- Currently a trustee of any eligible institution1
- You are an existing participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan with TIAA-CREF, or you own an individual insurance contract through TIAA. Ownership of products issued by other TIAA-CREF companies (such as TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company) does not apply. For further clarification, please call 800 842-2888.
- You are the surviving spouse or domestic partner of anyone eligible to open a TIAA-CREF IRA.
U.S. residents who do not meet the eligibility criteria above can still fund their IRA with TIAA-CREF mutual funds and non-TIAA-CREF investments (including mutual funds, stocks, bonds and CDs) through TIAA-CREF Brokerage Services.
1An eligible institution is an organization that meets our criteria to offer TIAA-CREF-funded retirement plans, regardless of whether TIAA-CREF currently administers their plan. Examples include nonprofit colleges and universities, public and private elementary and secondary schools, teaching hospitals, museums, libraries, and certain other nonprofit institutions. Government entities, including political subdivisions and instrumentalities of a local, state, or federal government are also eligible.
2A retired employee is anyone with at least three years total tenure at any eligible institution, or, who worked for any eligible institution as a full-time employee while at least 55 years of age or older. (This definition of retiree is being used solely for the determination of eligibility for these contracts.)
