FAQs

Yes. You'll need to contact the investment company that your rollover is from. The company can determine whether or not you're eligible to roll the funds over and provide the forms you'll need to process the transaction from their side.

Once you complete those forms, complete the TIAA Transfer, Rollover, or Exchange Authorization form. Then submit all the forms to TIAA. We'll contact your investment company to complete the transfer.

In some cases, federal law requires it. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires spousal consent for certain transactions. If you're rolling over money into an ERISA plan, TIAA requires acknowledgement that you're aware of the ERISA provisions of the plan and that any money rollover into the plan will be subject to ERISA laws.

If your spouse would like to waive his/her beneficial rights to the account, your spouse must complete a spousal waiver form. Your spouse must sign the waiver in front of a Notary or, if still employed by the sponsoring institution, the designated plan representative. TIAA has partnered with Notarize.com (www.Notarize.com/TIAAOpens in a new window) to offer a digital and secure way for you to fulfill notarization requirements for your forms. Please note: Your spouse's signature cannot be dated before your signature.

Note: If you originally submitted a Transfer, Rollover, or Exchange Authorization form, you already agreed to the ERISA terms.

If the funds were received without the Transfer, Rollover, or Exchange Authorization form, a Rollover/Transfer Acknowledgement form is required for every transaction in order for TIAA to accept the funds.

When you're setting up an EFT, you'll need the following information:

- Bank routing number (or ABA number) — always 9 digits long ( ı: 123456789 ı: )

- Account number (checking or savings) — do not include the check number

- Bank address and telephone number

You can't use EFTs to make contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Employer-sponsored plans can only be funded via payroll deferral or through a rollover from another retirement account.

IRAs can be funded through EFTs. The minimum EFT to an IRA on an automatic basis is $100 per transfer.

An electronic funds transfer (EFT) is one that moves funds from one financial institution to another. For example, you can directly deposit funds into your TIAA contract from your bank account and vice versa. EFT uses the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system and not the federal wire system. Please note that it can take 24 to 48 hours for funds to reach the bank.

The Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) allows you to systematically transfer money to a particular fund (investment) from your bank account.

You may log into your accountOpens in a new window and request the rollover online. If you have any questions or are unsure about any of the steps, call 800-842-2252.

If you already have a TIAA-CREF Mutual Fund IRA with us, complete the Transfer/Rollover Form (PDF)Opens pdf for Mutual Fund IRAs.