How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at TIAA
Covers 15 retirement, 2 investment, and 2 insurance accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
TIAA Retirement Accounts
TIAA, P.O. Box 1259, Charlotte, NC 28201 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262)
TIAA Retirement Accounts
TIAA, P.O. Box 1259, Charlotte, NC 28201 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262)
TIAA Beneficiary Services
TIAA, P.O. Box 1267, Charlotte, NC 28201-1267 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262). TIAA-CREF Life insurance and non-qualified annuity claims: Insurance Service Center, P.O. Box 724508, Atlanta, GA 31139-1508. Retail TIAA-CREF Funds: PO Box 219227, Kansas City, MO 64121-9227.
Estate planning for TIAA retirement retirement accounts revolves around beneficiary designations. These designations—not a will—control who receives the account balance at death. For IRAs and employer-sponsored plans, the beneficiary designation also determines the tax treatment of inherited distributions, making it a decision with both legal and financial implications.
With 19 product types, TIAA offers a range of transfer options. Some retirement accounts support beneficiary designations on tax-advantaged accounts, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.
- Log in and go to Manage Beneficiaries at https://my.tiaa.org/private/partpreferences/beneficiary (linked from https://www.tiaa.org/public/support/contact-tiaa)
- Or navigate from Profile, then Manage Beneficiaries
- Or go to Actions, then All Accounts, then Add/Edit Beneficiaries
- Select the account to update and choose primary or contingent designation
- Enter beneficiary name, relationship, date of birth, SSN, and percentage allocation
- For trusts: select Trust as beneficiary type and provide trust name, date, and EIN
- Review and submit your designation
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Whether you can fax the form depends on the account family. Retirement plan (F11468) and brokerage (F11004, F11015) beneficiary forms may be faxed to 800-914-8922 (within the US) or 704-595-5795 (from outside the US), uploaded at https://www.tiaa.org/upload or through the TIAA mobile app, or mailed. The life insurance (F1008) and non-qualified annuity (F7737) forms say "do not fax the Beneficiary Change form" and require an ORIGINAL signed and dated form mailed to the Atlanta Insurance Service Center. The retail TIAA-CREF Funds form (F11664) lists mail and overnight delivery only -- no fax line.
- Trusts can be named as beneficiaries on all TIAA account types
- Testamentary trusts require the will creation date at time of designation
- Spousal consent required for ERISA-covered plans (403(b), 401(a)) if naming a non-spouse as primary beneficiary; the employer plan's own rules control and can be stricter than TIAA's form
- Spouse entitled to at least 50% of death benefits under ERISA plans unless waived in writing (QPSA waiver)
- Community property states (F11468 lists AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI, among others): designating someone other than your spouse as more than 50% primary beneficiary has consequences TIAA tells you to review with a tax advisor. On the life insurance form (F1008), a community-property resident needs a NOTARY signature.
- "Will" alone is not acceptable as a beneficiary designation
- If no named beneficiary survives you (and you did not elect the child provision), TIAA pays your estate unless the plan provides otherwise -- which pushes the account into probate
- Use full legal names on all forms (e.g., "Martha B. Doe" not "Mrs. John Doe")
- Different beneficiary forms AND different mailing boxes apply by account type (retirement P.O. Box 1268; brokerage P.O. Box 1280; life/non-qualified annuity Atlanta; retail funds Kansas City)
- Changing a designation on a life insurance policy or non-qualified annuity that already names an IRREVOCABLE beneficiary requires that beneficiary's signature before a notary
- On a taxable TIAA brokerage TOD account, Pershing LLC applies per capita by default -- check "per stirpes" if you want a predeceased beneficiary's share to pass to their descendants
Sources
Data sourced from TIAA primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these TIAA instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against TIAA primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
TIAA Retirement Accounts
TIAA, P.O. Box 1259, Charlotte, NC 28201 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262)
TIAA Retirement Accounts
TIAA, P.O. Box 1259, Charlotte, NC 28201 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262)
TIAA Beneficiary Services
TIAA, P.O. Box 1267, Charlotte, NC 28201-1267 (overnight: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262). TIAA-CREF Life insurance and non-qualified annuity claims: Insurance Service Center, P.O. Box 724508, Atlanta, GA 31139-1508. Retail TIAA-CREF Funds: PO Box 219227, Kansas City, MO 64121-9227.
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