US - UK Taxes / Re: TIAA-CREF tax issue and contact issue
« Last post by dunroving on Today at 04:47:19 PM »That vintage of contributions will probably get you a good rate on the annuity. More recent contracts are not as generous as the older ones. The 73 year age top start the payout annuity seems strange because that's close to the RMD age limit, I'd expect to see age threasholds like 55 or 59 1/2 instead.
I just got off the phone with TIAA-CREF. I always chuckle when I am on the phone with their ultra-polite and helpful advisors - brings back memories of living in the southern US.
Anyway ... for a lifetime annuity I would receive (by my calculations) a 9.3% annual payout and a 10-year guarantee. I wasn't particularly interested in the guarantee (not married, no dependents), but the 10-year guarantee payout was just a few dollars less than no guarantee, which surprised me.
I asked whether it was a "flat rate" (never changes) amount or whether there was an inflation-linked/COLA type option available, and was told the only way I could try to achieve that was by "moving some of my capital into the markets," which I found was interesting. In the UK (as you will know), you can buy either a flat-rate annuity or an inflation-linked annuity. I figured this sort of thing wouldn't be available with TIAA - interesting how financial things can be so different in the UK and US.
Interestingly, I ran a quick quote for an annuity in the UK (not intending to buy one; just for comparison), and a like-for-like annuity in the UK was around 7% (with no 10-year guarantee).
Anyway, just wanted to post back what I found out. Thankfully, this enquiry went very smoothly - night and day compared to the hassles I had with TIAA a few years back when I was trying to do various other things.
[Edited to add: The annuity payout with 10 year guarantee was barely lower than if I had taken the capital as a 10-year transfer payout annuity - so, very similar but with the 10-year guarantee plus the guarantee to continue past the 10-year period if I live for longer.]