TIAA IRA question

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Topic Author
relativeratio
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Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:13 am

TIAA IRA question

Post by relativeratio »

I am considering making an IRA transfer to Tiaa Traditional. The only Tiaa traditional I qualify for (due to working more than 3 years in a government job) is outside the group plans and pays 2.8% for August deposits until the end of Fed 2023 then the interest rate is reset to what ever is deemed competitive-- I assume.

I like that this Tiaa Traditional fund is totally liquid and a higher rate than the MM I am in at Vanguard.

My question is: Does Tiaa have access to brokered CDs like my IRA does at Vanguard. If I can get a higher rate over a two year period with a brokered CD, I might want to park some money there. Has anyone here purchased brokered CDs at TIAA within their IRA? When I look at Tiaa brokerage options outside the IRA I see this option mentioned but when I look at the options in the IRA, it just shows mutual funds and annuity products. Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

RR
Topic Author
relativeratio
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:13 am

Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by relativeratio »

relativeratio wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:59 am I am considering making an IRA transfer to Tiaa Traditional. The only Tiaa traditional I qualify for (due to working more than 3 years in a government job) is outside the group plans and pays 2.8% for August deposits until the end of Fed 2023 then the interest rate is reset to what ever is deemed competitive-- I assume.

I like that this Tiaa Traditional fund is totally liquid and a higher rate than the MM I am in at Vanguard.

My question is: Does Tiaa have access to brokered CDs like my IRA does at Vanguard. If I can get a higher rate over a two year period with a brokered CD, I might want to park some money there. Has anyone here purchased brokered CDs at TIAA within their IRA? When I look at Tiaa brokerage options outside the IRA I see this option mentioned but when I look at the options in the IRA, it just shows mutual funds and annuity products. Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

RR
And the answer is....Drum roll....Yes you can. You set up a sub account within the same IRA and transfer funds to this sub brokerage account that has more options than the Tiaa traditional plan. It typically takes 2 days to transfer funds back and forth. On the brokerage IRA side, you can purchase brokered CDs, treasuries, etfs and stocks. You can also purchase mutual funds but if TIAA doesn't have an agreement with them then it costs $50.

:sharebeer
crefwatch
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by crefwatch »

When I log into my TIAA IRA, and choose Trade|Fixed Income, there is an option to look at a CD display. Right now it starts like this:

Code: Select all

5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	1mo	1.750	09/19/2022 	None		100.000 	1.750 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BAYCOAST BK SWANSEA, MA 	1mo	2.050	09/22/2022 	None	TX 	100.000 	2.050 	Buy
5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	2mo	2.000	10/18/2022 	None		100.000 	2.000 	Buy
5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	3mo	2.300	11/18/2022 	None		100.000 	2.300 	Buy
5 	2,000   	SANTANDER BK NA WILMINGTON, DE 	3mo	2.400	11/21/2022 	None		100.000 	2.400 	Buy
5 	1,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	6mo	2.700	02/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	2.700 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	6mo	2.700	02/22/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	2.700 	Buy
5 	1,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	9mo	2.850	05/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	2.850 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	9mo	2.850	05/24/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	2.850 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	1yr	3.000	08/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	3.000 	Buy
5 	2,000   	MORGAN STANLEY BK NA SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	1yr	2.800	08/18/2023 	None		100.000 	2.800 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	1yr	3.000	08/23/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	3.000 	Buy
5 	3,000   	SAFRA NB OF NY NEW YORK, NY 	13mo	3.050	09/25/2023 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.052 	Buy
5 	2,000   	MORGAN STANLEY BK NA SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	18mo	3.050	02/20/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.050 	Buy
5 	1,000   	PACIFIC WESTERN BK LOS ANGELES, CA 	18mo	3.150	02/20/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.150 	Buy
10 	933   	DISCOVER BK GREENWOOD, DE 	2yr	3.300	08/15/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.300 	Buy
5 	2,000   	AMERICAN EXPRESS NATIONAL BK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	2yr	3.350	08/19/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.350
but there are many more lines in the display. I have never actually bought one.

Note that some account holders find TIAA's brokerage platform to be relatively weak and bug-prone, compared to, say, Vanguard. But I added the brokerage platform many years ago to get access to lower-cost products than available to me in the basic IRA wrapper-account. The brokerage numbers are not well-integrated into TIAA's asset-allocation reporting, among other things. They tend to look like "other".

I use TIAA Traditional, buy-and-hold, for a large portion of my fixed-income retirement savings.
Topic Author
relativeratio
Posts: 123
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by relativeratio »

crefwatch wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 8:57 am When I log into my TIAA IRA, and choose Trade|Fixed Income, there is an option to look at a CD display. Right now it starts like this:

Code: Select all

5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	1mo	1.750	09/19/2022 	None		100.000 	1.750 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BAYCOAST BK SWANSEA, MA 	1mo	2.050	09/22/2022 	None	TX 	100.000 	2.050 	Buy
5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	2mo	2.000	10/18/2022 	None		100.000 	2.000 	Buy
5 	1,000   	ALLY BK MIDVALE, UT 	3mo	2.300	11/18/2022 	None		100.000 	2.300 	Buy
5 	2,000   	SANTANDER BK NA WILMINGTON, DE 	3mo	2.400	11/21/2022 	None		100.000 	2.400 	Buy
5 	1,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	6mo	2.700	02/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	2.700 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	6mo	2.700	02/22/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	2.700 	Buy
5 	1,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	9mo	2.850	05/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	2.850 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	9mo	2.850	05/24/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	2.850 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BANK OF CHINA NEW YORK, NEW YORK 	1yr	3.000	08/17/2023 	None	FA, MT, OH, TX 	100.000 	3.000 	Buy
5 	2,000   	MORGAN STANLEY BK NA SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	1yr	2.800	08/18/2023 	None		100.000 	2.800 	Buy
5 	2,000   	BEAL BK USA LAS VEGAS, NV 	1yr	3.000	08/23/2023 	None	OH, TX 	100.000 	3.000 	Buy
5 	3,000   	SAFRA NB OF NY NEW YORK, NY 	13mo	3.050	09/25/2023 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.052 	Buy
5 	2,000   	MORGAN STANLEY BK NA SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	18mo	3.050	02/20/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.050 	Buy
5 	1,000   	PACIFIC WESTERN BK LOS ANGELES, CA 	18mo	3.150	02/20/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.150 	Buy
10 	933   	DISCOVER BK GREENWOOD, DE 	2yr	3.300	08/15/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.300 	Buy
5 	2,000   	AMERICAN EXPRESS NATIONAL BK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 	2yr	3.350	08/19/2024 	Semi-annual		100.000 	3.350
but there are many more lines in the display. I have never actually bought one.

Note that some account holders find TIAA's brokerage platform to be relatively weak and bug-prone, compared to, say, Vanguard. But I added the brokerage platform many years ago to get access to lower-cost products than available to me in the basic IRA wrapper-account. The brokerage numbers are not well-integrated into TIAA's asset-allocation reporting, among other things. They tend to look like "other".

I use TIAA Traditional, buy-and-hold, for a large portion of my fixed-income retirement savings.
Cref, that's good info. Thanks for sharing. I will probably leave money in the Tiaa Traditional for yearly needs and put the rest in some CDs, and Treasuries in a ladder for future needs. I'm just going to keep it simple and safe. Maybe toss some ETFs into the mix for ten years down the road.
vtMaps
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by vtMaps »

I have a IRAs at TIAA. My only investments are TIAA Traditional (liquid, with 3% minimum) and real estate.

At one point I wanted to sell some real estate and buy equities, but there were no low cost choices in the IRA. So I set up the self-directed brokerage link. It was a clunky interface and it was not seamless to move money from one to the other. Finally I got it set up and put in a buy order for VTI. It was rejected even though I had adequate settled cash in the sweep.

The reason turned out to be that it was one of those bank holidays when the market is open. The brokerage link sweep is a FDIC bank and is not available on bank holidays. Those funds are now sitting in a Fidelity IRA. And getting them there was another long story.

--vtMaps
"Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities" --Voltaire, as translated by Norman Lewis Torrey
cas
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by cas »

relativeratio wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:59 pm I will probably leave money in the Tiaa Traditional for yearly needs and put the rest in some CDs, and Treasuries in a ladder for future needs.
I just helped someone who inherited a TIAA employer account transfer to a TIAA brokerage IRA in their own name, then transfer out to another brokerage.

So I'm no expert on TIAA IRAs, but I did note in reading the brokerage fee schedule that there was a minimum $50 fee for purchasing Treasuries (at auction or on secondary market). That's much different than other commonly used major brokerages (which have $0 fee.)

So go google "TIAA brokerage fee schedule" before deciding.
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ResearchMed
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by ResearchMed »

vtMaps wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:22 pm I have a IRAs at TIAA. My only investments are TIAA Traditional (liquid, with 3% minimum) and real estate.

You have a 3% guaranteed minimum Traditional Annuity at TIAA in an IRA?

I didn't know that was available.

RM
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vtMaps
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by vtMaps »

ResearchMed wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:23 pm
vtMaps wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:22 pm I have a IRAs at TIAA. My only investments are TIAA Traditional (liquid, with 3% minimum) and real estate.
You have a 3% guaranteed minimum Traditional Annuity at TIAA in an IRA?

I didn't know that was available.

RM
It's not available anymore. Only my pre 2010 contributions have that guarantee. I have not made contributions since then.

--vtMaps
"Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities" --Voltaire, as translated by Norman Lewis Torrey
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ResearchMed
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by ResearchMed »

vtMaps wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:29 pm
ResearchMed wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:23 pm
vtMaps wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:22 pm I have a IRAs at TIAA. My only investments are TIAA Traditional (liquid, with 3% minimum) and real estate.
You have a 3% guaranteed minimum Traditional Annuity at TIAA in an IRA?

I didn't know that was available.

RM
It's not available anymore. Only my pre 2010 contributions have that guarantee. I have not made contributions since then.

--vtMaps

Ah.

Well, nice that you have that! :happy

RM
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crefwatch
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by crefwatch »

ResearchMed wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:50 pm Well, nice that you have that! :happy
I am sorry to sound like a broken record, but this is a very concrete case of TIAA reacting to people taking advantage of liquid versions of TIAA Traditional. First, they created a new contract for IRAs, and then they froze "old money" in the earlier versions of the IRA contract. There is a price to be paid for "The Tragedy of the Commons."
vtMaps
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by vtMaps »

crefwatch wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:43 am I am sorry to sound like a broken record, but this is a very concrete case of TIAA reacting to people taking advantage of liquid versions of TIAA Traditional. First, they created a new contract for IRAs, and then they froze "old money" in the earlier versions of the IRA contract. There is a price to be paid for "The Tragedy of the Commons."
fwiw, I have never taken advantage of the liquidity, but I stopped contributing when they took away the 3% minimum. And they did not "freeze old money". It's still liquid. They just closed the contract to new contributions.

--vtMaps
"Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities" --Voltaire, as translated by Norman Lewis Torrey
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cheese_breath
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Re: TIAA IRA question

Post by cheese_breath »

vtMaps wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:22 am
crefwatch wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:43 am I am sorry to sound like a broken record, but this is a very concrete case of TIAA reacting to people taking advantage of liquid versions of TIAA Traditional. First, they created a new contract for IRAs, and then they froze "old money" in the earlier versions of the IRA contract. There is a price to be paid for "The Tragedy of the Commons."
fwiw, I have never taken advantage of the liquidity, but I stopped contributing when they took away the 3% minimum. And they did not "freeze old money". It's still liquid. They just closed the contract to new contributions.

--vtMaps
I stopped doing Roth conversions then.
The surest way to know the future is when it becomes the past.
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