How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to TIAA?

Send it to TIAA's estate/claims department: 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.. You can reach the department at 1-888-380-6428.

TIAA lists these among its required documents: Certified death certificate; Government-issued ID for beneficiary/claimant; Notification of Annuitant Death form (F9800) from the employer/plan administrator, with the institution name and PPG code; Proof of relationship to deceased (if applicable). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from TIAA's recorded requirements.

Varies based on account type and beneficiary elections; TIAA contacts beneficiaries after notification

TIAA provides its own letter-of-instruction/claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and an enclosure checklist to accompany that form.

It depends on the capacity you are acting in. An executor or administrator encloses Letters Testamentary (when there is a will) or Letters of Administration (when there is not); a successor trustee encloses a certificate of trust; a successor under a small estate encloses that state’s small estate affidavit. The prepared letter lists the proof-of-authority document for your role alongside the institution’s required documents.

A letter of instruction is the written request an institution asks for when settling a deceased customer’s account. It identifies the decedent and the account, states the capacity you are acting in, and tells the institution what to do with the account.