Starting Oct. 1, TIAA plan participants have access to a new service that can help with the investment decisions for their retirement savings.

TIAA’s Retirement Plan Portfolio Manager is an optional, fee-based service for CU 401(a) and CU 403(b) Retirement Plans (the plans) members to have a professionally managed account without high fees and monthly meetings. The service gives you professional oversight and a systematic, disciplined approach to managing your money. Your CU investment portfolio is reviewed on a quarterly basis – and adjusted as needed – to help keep your savings on track with your goals.

Features include:

• Customized advice: Based on your goals, TIAA will help you decide how much to save and help you determine an appropriate asset mix and specific investment options.
• Ongoing monitoring and portfolio adjustments: Adjustments will be made based on current market conditions and other factors that may affect your investments.
• As-needed modifications: You can update your preferences anytime, and TIAA will fine-tune their investments.
• Quarterly investments: Adjustments made to your portfolio will be shown on your quarterly statements.

This managed account is great for people who are busy and want to set it and forget it but also want a strategically managed account. Meetings with a retirement advisor are not a requirement to join.

If you enroll in this service, an annual fee of 0.20% will be deducted from your account in quarterly increments. The fee is based on an average daily balance of your account during the quarter.

For example, the cost for an average daily account balance of $10,000:

Annual fee: $10,000 x 0.002 = $20 a year

Quarterly fee: $20 ÷ 4 = $5 a quarter

“Often, retirement managers require large minimum balances and huge fees for a managed account. Participants do not need a minimum balance in their retirement account and have significantly lower fess compared to other vendors,” said Peter Contini, a financial consultant at TIAA.

Did you later find the service is not working out for you? You can drop the service at any time, and you will only pay fees for the quarters you were enrolled in the service with no tax penalties.

Get started by contacting a TIAA financial consultant. Just call 855-728-8422, weekdays, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MT). If you prefer to enroll online, visit TIAA.org/RetirementAdvisor to log in to the secure site and access the Retirement Advisor online tool. Follow the steps in the tool to get your recommendations and sign up for Retirement Plan Portfolio Manager.