K-12 Capabilities Brochure

Opportunities in the public K-12 school market for intermediaries partnering with TIAA-CREFUnderstanding the evolving needs of the public K-12 marketPublic K-12 schools employ more than 4.7 million educators in the United States.1 These educators face unprecedented pressures on public education, including growing class sizes and reduced funding. For administrators, the challenges their educators face mean that competitive high-quality benefits programs—including retirement plans—are more important than ever to help attract and retain K-12 staff.

Helping those administrators deliver cost effective, diverse retirement plans that can help drive retirement outcomes for educators requires a deep understanding of the dynamics impacting local school districts, including these trends:

Using fiduciary best practices is important. As public school districts are governmental employers, their plans are not subject to ERISA, which requires plan fduciaries to act prudently and in the best interests of plan participants and benefciaries. However, those who exercise discretion over the plans sometimes take a “best practices of a fduciary” approach to the management and oversight of their 403(b) and 457(b) plans and do their best to follow ERISA requirements.

The role of supplemental retirement plans is growing. Educators typically rely on a range of sources to fund their retirement income like core defned beneft pension plans, Social Security, and employer-sponsored supplemental programs like 403(b) or 457(b) plans. In light of recent economic challenges, it’s more important than ever that plan sponsors optimize their supplemental savings programs.

Volatile market performance is taking its toll. Market volatility and a sluggish economy require school districts to scrutinize investment and provider fees to more accurately determine their impact on participant outcomes.

K-12 educators are confident they are saving enough, but they still seek guidance about retirement.2 Employees in the K-12 sector feel confdent about retirement but still have signifcant needs when it comes to retirement planning. Approximately 90% of the 2,000 study participants in a recent research report are currently saving for retirement; nearly 80% are confdent they are investing their savings appropriately; and about 70% are confdent they will have enough money to live comfortably during retirement. That said, only about half have determined how much they actually need to save to achieve this goal. And 40% of respondents admitted they have not sought retirement planning advice within the past three years.

1 Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Public School Elementary-Secondary School Employment, 12/15/2010. www.eeoc.gov.

2 TIAA-CREF Institute Report: “Retirement Confdence in the Education Sector: Comparisons by Race,” April, 2013.

Since 1918, we have been serving the retirement plan needs of K-12 schools by providing a full range of services for plan sponsors and participants. Today, TIAA-CREF is a leading provider of retirement plan services in the K-12 market.3 We work with intermediaries to offer our clients a comprehensive, needs-based solution that incorporates a broad menu of investments, a full suite of plan sponsor services, and comprehensive communications, education, and advice programs to engage plan participants. Offering annuities that provide lifetime income options is the foundation of our platform, complemented by a full open-architecture menu and brokerage options.

Comprehensive support for our intermediary partnersWe value our relationship with those of you who play a role in advising participants and share our commitment to retirement readiness.

We offer you:

W A dedicated team: Our team is available to support your needs around the country. Our territory teams are located in key regions and available via extended phone center hours for general support and investment and retirement product knowledge.

W Marketing collateral tools: We have a range of tools and services, including white papers, research, toolkits and enhanced online tools.

W Support materials: Our suite of communications and other materials help you build your business, including prospecting emails, Financial Education Series presentations, and access to our Advisor Network.

Comprehensive support for your clientsWe are committed to helping you help your clients. We can help you from the initial plan design phase through implementation and ongoing operations, providing service excellence through teamwork and regular, consistent communications.

W Recordkeeping platform streamlines the day-to-day duties of a plan administrator by offering real time access to information

W Open-architecture platform enables customization of investment menus without a proprietary fund requirement

W Fee and revenue transparency for clarity around plan costs and revenue-sharing agreements

W Full range of fduciary and compliance services to help plan sponsors manage their fduciary obligations

W Ease of access: Our PlanFocus®website offers analytical tools 24/7.

W Advice and education offers to all participants via in-person meetings, phone or online

W Flexible communications: Full complement of print, online, and telephone resources give participants the fexibility to access TIAA-CREF at their convenience

A segment specific teamOur K-12 initiatives are led by a team of professionals who have been working in the K-12 market for an average of 20 years per person. The team develops and executes a K-12-specifc business strategy offering market-responsive products and services to K-12 plan sponsors and educators. In turn, our interactions with our K-12 clients strengthen our relationships and provide us with valuable information on the evolving needs of K-12 administrators—contributing to the continual refnement of our product and service offerings.

3 Source: LIMRA, Not-for-Proft Market Survey, fourth-quarter 2013 results. LIMRA’s quarterly Not-for-Proft Market Survey includes data from 26 retirement plan providers for not-for-proft institutions, including Transamerica Retirement, Fidelity Investments, VALIC, Prudential Retirement and Mass Mutual.

TIAA-CREF products may be subject to market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature, or visit tiaa-cref.org for details.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877 518-9161 or go to www.tiaa-cref.org/prospectuses for current prospectuses that contain this and other information. Please read them carefully before investing.TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products. Annuity contracts and certifcates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY.

© 2014 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH OR DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC.

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A consummate commitment to the K-12 marketOur commitment to retirement readiness helping drive retirement outcomes for educators is stronger than ever, and those who choose to partner with us have the confdence of knowing that serving the needs of their clients and their clients’ employees is not only our highest priority, but the reason we exist.

Contact TIAA-CREF today to learn more.We would like you to learn more. We are confdent that selecting TIAA-CREF as the retirement plan provider for your clients is a wise decision. For more information on how TIAA-CREF can help support your efforts to help your K-12 school clients optimize their retirement plans, please contact:

Kevin Orr Senior Director, K-12 Market 317 706-6208 korr@tiaa-cref.org