Adoption accelerates as workers demand a restoration of guaranteed lifetime income benefits

TIAA and Nuveen have $75B in AUM in these solutions

NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TIAA and Nuveen announced that 1,000 employers across corporate, education, government, and healthcare sectors have adopted the company's lifetime income target-date solutions.

This milestone signals a shift in how employers across a spectrum of industries increasingly recognize that guaranteed lifetime income is a highly desired worker benefit and view a target-date structure as an accessible and low-cost way to provide employees with these benefits in retirement.

"TIAA first offered annuity-embedded target-date solutions well over a decade ago because guaranteed lifetime income is key to retirement security and we wanted to offer it in the most efficient way for employers to implement and employees to access," said Kourtney Gibson, Chief Executive Officer of TIAA Retirement Solutions. "We have developed multiple solutions that can replicate that feeling of security prior generations had – at no cost or balance sheet risk to the employer."

TIAA and Nuveen's suite of lifetime income target-date solutions include TIAA RetirePlus for TIAA's non-profit institutional recordkeeping clients and Nuveen Lifecycle Income CIT Series (NLI) for all eligible plan types, including 401(k) on both TIAA's platform and third-party platforms. (The trustee for the NLI CIT series is SEI Trust Company.) TIAA has also partnered with third parties to make TIAA lifetime income available within their target date solutions.

Both RetirePlus and NLI are next-generation qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) that combine a familiar target-date-structure with the option for guaranteed lifetime income that never runs out.

Growth and adoption

TIAA began offering lifetime income target-date solutions in 2014 and broadly launched them in 2018. By 2022, assets in these solutions reached $10 billion. Assets surpassed $50 billion by the end of 2024. As of February 2026, TIAA and Nuveen have over $75 billion in these solutions. This is nearly three times that of the next competitor.ⁱ

Together, TIAA and Nuveen's lifetime income target-date solutions offer guaranteed retirement income to over one million American workers. More than 65 consulting firms recommend the solutions to their clients, with many placing 'buy' ratings based on the value proposition for employees.

TIAA's annuities earn their place on some of the world's most prestigious institutions' retirement plans because independent fiduciary consultants and plan sponsors recognize their value through ongoing, rigorous evaluation.

"What started as an innovation for TIAA's core nonprofit clients is becoming the standard for all retirement plans. Reaching 1,000 institutions confirms that this wasn't just the right approach for nonprofits, it's the right approach for all American workers," said Brendan McCarthy, Head of Retirement Investing at Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA.  "This represents the most significant transformation in retirement plan design in a generation, and TIAA and Nuveen are leading it."

Track record of outcomes and reliability

Research conducted by consulting firm Charles River Associates, which examined 49 years of historical data from 1973 to 2021, showed that including TIAA's flagship fixed annuity as a bond substitute in a target-date solution's glidepathⁱⁱ led to improved retirement outcomes in over 90% of scenarios analyzed.

TIAA is able to deliver these outcomes because of its unique structure which shares profits with its participants. TIAA has paid more total lifetime income benefits than it has guaranteed every year since 1949.

TIAA is one of only three insurance groups in the U.S. to hold the highest currently offered ratings from all four leading independent rating agencies, reflecting its financial strength and ability to meet long-term guarantees.ⁱⁱⁱ

"As we continue to expand access to guaranteed lifetime income through these innovative solutions, we are not just transforming retirement plans, we are beginning to bring back the promise of a more secure retirement that defined previous generations," said Gibson.

About TIAA

TIAA provides outcome-focused investment solutions to millions of people and thousands of institutions.^iv It paid more than $5.9 billion in lifetime income to retired clients in 2024^v and has $1.5 trillion in assets under management (as of 12/31/2025).^vi

Learn more about TIAA
Read the latest TIAA news  
LinkedIn | Facebook

Annuities are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), New York, NY.

Any guarantees under annuities issued by TIAA are subject to TIAA's claims-paying ability.

You should consider the investment objectives, principal strategies, principal risks, portfolio turnover rate, performance data, and fee and expense information of each underlying investment carefully before directing an investment based on the model. For a free copy of the program description and the prospectus or other offering documents for each of the underlying investments (containing this and other information), call TIAA at 877-518-9161. Please read the program description and the prospectuses or other offering documents for the underlying investments carefully before investing.

This material is for informational, educational or non-fiduciary sales opportunities and/or activities only and does not constitute investment advice (e.g., fiduciary advice under ERISA or otherwise), a securities recommendation under all securities laws, or an insurance product recommendation under state insurance laws or regulations to invest through a model or to purchase any security or advice about investing or managing retirement savings. It does not take into account any specific objectives or circumstances of any particular customer or suggest any specific course of action.

No registration under the Investment Company Act, the Securities Act or state securities laws—the model is not a mutual fund or other type of security and will not be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and no units or shares of the model will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, nor will they be registered with any state securities regulator. Accordingly, the model is not subject to compliance with the requirements of such acts, nor may plan participants investing in underlying investments based on the model avail themselves of the protections thereunder, except to the extent that one or more underlying investments or interests therein are registered under such acts.

No guarantee – Neither the models nor any investment made pursuant to the models are deposits of, or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by TIAA or their affiliates (except with respect to certain annuities sponsored by TIAA or its affiliates), or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or any other agency. There is no guarantee that the underlying investments will provide adequate income at and through retirement and participants may experience losses. Participants should not allocate their retirement savings to the underlying investments unless they can readily bear the consequences of such loss.

Assets allocated to the underlying investments based on the model will be invested in underlying mutual funds and annuities that are permissible investments under the plan. Some or all of the underlying investments included in the model may be sponsored or managed by TIAA or its affiliates and pay fees to TIAA and its affiliates. In general, the value of a model-based account will fluctuate based on the performance of the underlying investments in which the account invests. For a detailed discussion of the risks applicable to an underlying investment, please see the prospectus or disclosure document for such underlying investment.

TIAA RetirePlus SelectSM and TIAA RetirePlus Pro® are administered by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America ("TIAA") as plan recordkeeper. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, Member FINRA distributes securities products. TIAA and CREF annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY, respectively. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. Transactions in the underlying investments invested in based on the models on behalf of the plan participants are executed through TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, member FINRA.

TIAA RetirePlus Select

TIAA RetirePlus Select is an asset allocation program that includes asset allocation models that a plan participant may choose to guide the investment of his or her account into underlying investment options selected by the plan sponsor (the "underlying investments"). The plan sponsor selects the specific underlying investments available under its plan to represent the various asset classes in the models. An independent third-party advisor engaged by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America ("TIAA") developed the target asset class ratios for the models and the TIAA RetirePlus Select is administered by TIAA as plan recordkeeper. In making TIAA RetirePlus Select available to plans, TIAA is not providing investment advice to the plans or plan participants.

The target asset class ratios for a plan participant's model-based account will become more conservative over time as the plan participant's years to retirement decreases. For information regarding the changes to the target allocations please contact TIAA. An account's actual allocation percentage to an underlying investment may vary from the target allocations due to the performance of the underlying investments or other factors. Accounts invested in accordance with the models will be rebalanced to the applicable target allocations periodically. The underlying investments included in a model are subject to change and may not be representative of the current or future underlying investments for the model. Some or all of the underlying investments included in a model may be sponsored or managed by TIAA or its affiliates and pay fees to TIAA and its affiliates.

Mesirow is not affiliated with TIAA. Mesirow Financial refers to Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. and its divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates. The Mesirow Financial name and logo are registered service marks of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. ©2019, Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. Advisory services offered through Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc. an SEC registered investment advisor.

TIAA RetirePlus Pro

TIAA RetirePlus Pro, a model-based service, is administered by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America ("TIAA") as plan recordkeeper.

The TIAA RetirePlus Pro Models are asset allocation recommendations developed in one of three ways, depending on your plan structure: i) by your plan sponsor, ii) by your plan sponsor in consultation with consultants and other investment advisors designated by the plan sponsor, or iii) exclusively by consultants and other investment advisors selected by your plan sponsor whereby assets are allocated to underlying mutual funds and annuities that are permissible investments under the plan. Model-based accounts will be managed on the basis of the plan participant's personal financial situation and investment objectives (for example, taking into account factors such as participant age and risk capacity as determined by a risk tolerance questionnaire).

The plan fiduciary and the plan advisor may determine that an underlying investment(s) is appropriate for a model portfolio, but not appropriate as a stand-alone investment for a participant who is not participating in TIAA RetirePlus Pro. In such case, participants who elect to unsubscribe from the service while holding an underlying investment(s) in their model-based account that has been deemed inappropriate as a stand-alone investment option by the plan fiduciary and/or plan advisor will be prohibited from allocating future contributions to that investment option(s).

Established Restrictions: Each plan participant may, but need not, propose restrictions for his or her model-based account, which will further customize such plan participant's own portfolio of underlying investments. The plan fiduciary is responsible for considering any restrictions proposed by a plan participant, and for determining (together with plan advisor(s)) whether the proposed restriction is "reasonable" in each case.

TIAA RetirePlus Select^SM is a service mark and TIAA RetirePlus® and TIAA RetirePlus Pro® are registered trademarks of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

About Nuveen Lifecycle Income CIT Series

SEI Trust Company serves as the Trustee of the Nuveen/SEI Trust Company Investment Trust III and maintains ultimate fiduciary authority over the management of, and the investments made, in the Nuveen Lifecycle Income CIT Series (Lifecycle CIT Series). 

Each fund is part of a trust operated by the trustee. The trustee is a trust company organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and wholly owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company (SEI). The Lifecycle CIT Series is managed by the trustee, based on the investment advice of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, the investment adviser to the trust, and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC as investment sub-adviser to the Lifecycle CIT Series.

The Lifecycle CIT Series are trusts for the collective investment of assets of participating tax qualified pension and profit-sharing plans and related trusts, governmental plans and other eligible plans, as more fully described in the Declaration of Trust. As a bank collective investment trust, the trust is exempt from registration as an investment company. A plan fiduciary should consider the funds' objectives, risks, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Declaration of Trust and the Funds' Disclosure Memorandum.

Annuity contracts may contain terms for keeping them in force. We can provide you with costs and complete details.

TIAA Traditional and TIAA Secure Income Account are fixed annuity products. TIAA Traditional is issued through these contracts: Form series including but not limited to: 1000.24; G-1000.4; IGRS-01-84-ACC; IGRSP-01-84-ACC; 6008.8. TIAA Secure Income Account is issued through these contracts: Form series including but not limited to: TIAA-UQDIA-002-K, TIAA-STDFA-001-NUV and related state specific versions. Not all contracts are available in all states or currently issued.

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products. Advisory services are provided by Advice & Planning Services, a division of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.

Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, are not deposits, are not insured by any federal government agency, are not a condition to any banking service or activity and may lose value.

ⁱ According to 2026 Sway Research, there was $139 billion in assets in target date strategies with embedded income at the end of 2025, up from $100 billion at the outset of 2025.

ⁱⁱ A glidepath is a predetermined investment strategy that automatically shifts a target date solution's asset allocation from more aggressive investments like equities to more conservative investments as the target retirement date approaches.

ⁱⁱⁱ For its stability, claims-paying ability and overall financial strength, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) is a member of one of only three insurance groups in the United States to currently hold the highest rating available to U.S. insurers from three of the four leading insurance company rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++ as of 02/26), Fitch (AAA as of 02/26) and Standard & Poor's (AA+ as of 02/26), and the second highest possible rating from Moody's Investors Service (Aa1 as of 02/26). There is no guarantee that current ratings will be maintained. The financial strength ratings represent a company's ability to meet policyholders' obligations and do not apply to variable annuities or any other product or service not fully backed by TIAA's claims-paying ability. The ratings also do not apply to the safety or the performance of the variable accounts, which will fluctuate in value.

^iv Based on data in PLANSPONSOR's 2025 DC Recordkeeping Survey published June 25, 2025.

^v As of December 31,2024, TIAA paid out $5.9 billion in total annuity income. This figure represents all annuity income, including guaranteed and additional amounts, for all of TIAA's annuity products.

^vi As of December 31, 2025, assets under management across Nuveen Investments affiliates and TIAA investment management teams are $1.506 billion.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1-000-employers-now-offer-tiaa-and-nuveens-lifetime-income-target-date-solutions-302695885.html

SOURCE TIAA