Retirement planning advice
Make retirement planning decisions with confidence
Working with a TIAA financial professional can help you on your journey towards retirement.
Time to read: 4 minutes
Financial professionals know retirement planning
Did you know? TIAA retirement plan participants have free access to our team of financial consultants as well as our digital planning experience. We call meetings with a financial consultant an advice session and our digital experience, Retirement Journey Planner, is one of our key retirement planning tools. Whether retirement is coming up soon or if it feels like it will be years away, taking the time to schedule an advice session or using Retirement Journey Planner can be a smart choice when it comes to helping you prepare.
Why work with a financial professional?
It seems like financial topics and financial “experts” are everywhere these days. With content available at the click of a mouse and a plethora of self-stylized “fin-fluencers”, there’s no lack of people out there offering up their opinions and investing short cuts. Family and friends also often like to share ideas on retirement and investing strategies that they have employed in their own lives. But the truth is: there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach to investing that will be as effective as creating a plan that takes into account your specific needs.
That’s why sitting down with a financial professional who can talk through your accounts, your approach to risk and investing, and your plans for retirement can play such an essential part when it comes to achieving retirement security.
We’re here to help
Talk with a financial professional to stay on course with your retirement planning journey
What working with a financial professional can offer
When you work with a TIAA financial professional, you collaborate on a retirement plan and strategy that is centered on you and your needs.
That’s because we offer advice, strategies, and recommendations based on your specific financial circumstances and long-term goals that can help you plan for both now and the future.
Plan for now
- Set budgeting and financial goals
- Decide how much to save each paycheck
- Discuss your investment strategy
- Choose what you’ll invest in
- Protect a portion of retirement savings
Plan for later
- Think about the retirement you want
- Estimate your retirement income needs
- Plan for and manage market volatility
- Create a strategy to cover any gaps
- Discuss how your approach will change over time
What is an advice session?
Did you know that all eligible TIAA plan participants have access to advice as a complimentary plan benefit? Here are three things you should know about advice from TIAA.
First up, you have options in person or assisted advice is when you meet with a financial consultant to review your retirement plan. Digital advice is available through our online question based Retirement Journey Planner Experience. Work with us or do it yourself. Pick the option that feels right for you.
Next, we'll talk about you and your needs. If you choose to meet with us for an assisted advice session, bring all of the relevant financial and retirement documents you can find. These documents help the conversation around our three key retirement planning questions. Are you saving enough? Is your portfolio diversified? Striking the right balance between risk reward potential? And does your account include guaranteed lifetime income?
Lastly, what comes after your meeting can be just as important. The key outcomes in that advice session are retirement income planning and investment strategy recommendations, driven by Morningstar's independent third party advice software. These recommendations will be unique to you and your needs and goals, but they are only recommendations. You need to take action to update your account accordingly. You may choose to increase your contributions to save more. Adjust your asset allocation mix to better diversify or both.
If you need help making these updates, just let us know. We can help you make the necessary changes.
Ready to get started? Great! Schedule your meeting now at TIAA.ORG/ScheduleNow. You can select from in person, over the phone, or virtually via zoom. You can also select from available dates and times that work best with your schedule.
We look forward to talking with you soon.
How should I prepare for my advice session?
Step 1: Schedule your meeting
Think of this as a starting point. Each advice session is a conversation between you and a TIAA financial consultant. Think of each conversation as a “snapshot in time” where you talk through your financial & long-term investing goals. But don’t think of this session as a “one and done” conversation where the support ends when your time does. That’s because having advice sessions at regular intervals throughout your career is a great rule of thumb to make sure you are on track for your retirement plans. We’ll also be happy to talk through any significant life or financial changes you may experience.
Step 2: Bring your financial documents
Gather and bring your financial documents. There are a few basic documents you will want to bring to your session – your current retirement plan information, plus other investing accounts (like previous workplace retirement plans or individual IRA or investing accounts). When you bring these important documents to your session, we can review them to see how they all work together to help you work toward your retirement goals.
Step 3: Be ready to talk!
Be ready to talk through your retirement goals. A retirement goal can be anything from when you hope to stop working to what you are planning to do during your retirement years. Knowing what you want from your retirement can guide the discussion as we work to help secure your future retirement.
Rather do things yourself? Try Retirement Journey Planner
Not everyone needs or wishes to speak to a person when it comes to refining their retirement strategy. That’s where
Available as part of your plan benefit at no additional cost, Retirement Journey Planner will help you:
- Get a personalized retirement plan. Answer a few questions and to get a personalized strategy on how much you should be saving, your retirement age and your investment mix.
- Easily rebalance your portfolio. Diversify your holdings to help ensure you stay aligned with your retirement goals.
24x7 convenient access. Accessible from any device: mobile, table, laptop, or desktop.
Make planning decisions with confidence.
When reviewing your retirement plan, you may want to talk through ideas. TIAA retirement plan participants can schedule a free session with a financial professional.
Talk with a professional
Schedule a free call to discuss what makes sense for you.
Do it yourself
Get your personalized plan at no additional cost with Retirement Journey Planner.
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and is not fiduciary investment advice, or a securities, investment strategy, or insurance product recommendation. This material does not consider an individual’s own objectives or circumstances which should be the basis of any investment decision.
The advice provided by TIAA Financial Consultants is obtained using an advice methodology from an independent third-party.
The TIAA Retirement Journey Planner is a brokerage service provided by TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA, SIPC. IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by Retirement Journey Planner regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.