Moving TIAA-RE to an IRA

[Zorba]

Excuse me if this is too basic a question. When I was employed, I had a dogs' breakfast of retirement plans (e.g. 401a, 457b and 403b) from several companies (Fidelity, Vanguard and TIAA). Now that I am retired, I really want to simplify and roll these over to an single IRA. For reference, I am about 40% stocks, 30% bonds+cash and 30% real estate.

I've got a sizable 401(a) in TIAA Real Estate (QREARX). My plan documentation says that I am allowed to roll this over into an IRA but how does this actually work? Can I create a Fidelity IRA and roll over QREARX into this account? Does Fidelity have restrictions on what funds you can hold in an IRA?

I'd hate to lose TIAA Real Estate as it has been a steady source of withdrawals in retirement.

Thanks, Zorba

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I don't know the answers to your specific questions. But you can (I think) roll QREARX to an IRA held at TIAA.

 

[Dd852]

My mother had TIAA as well as brokerage and bank accounts, and I must say that when she died, TIAA was by far the kindest, fastest, and easiest to deal with of all her assets. So your best bet might just be to call them and ask - and possibly see if you could consolidate everything with them. Maybe I had an “outlier “ experience but I was hugely impressed and very grateful.

 

[TheWizard]

You can't hold TREA, as some of us call it, outside of TIAA.
Ten years into retirement, I am retaining my TIAA 403(b) accounts for several reasons rather than rolling them into a tIRA elsewhere:
1) access to TREA
2) access to TIAA Traditional
3) access to a few Vanguard institutional index funds with low ERs

Having said that, I should mention that I don't presently own any TREA, due to its negative performance since October.
I moved all money out of TREA and into liquid TIAA Traditional paying 5.5% a while ago.
I will return to TREA when its performance gets back to 6%+.

I might also mention that my main Roth IRA and my taxable investment account are both at Vanguard and I am quite content having the two different custodians...

 

[Zorba]

Thanks everyone. Based on this, I should plan on rolling QREARX into an IRA held at TIAA, but move all of my other assets into a single company (probably Fidelity). That in itself would be a huge step in simplifying management.

TheWizard. I've read that QREARX can lag behind its benchmark index by several months and it sounds like you move money in and out of TREA (aka QREARX) based on market signals? Cool. I might look into timing my annual withdrawals this way if can be deployed successfully.

Zorba