TIAA pushes lifetime income annuities into wider 401(k) market

TIAA is trying to extend its retirement-income business into the broader 401(k) market under CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett, Fortune reported Wednesday. The move matters because the company’s guaranteed lifetime income annuities could reach millions of workers through a partnership with Vanguard.

Fortune reported that TIAA now has more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management during Brown Duckett’s tenure. The company has long served nonprofit institutions, but its deal with Vanguard, reached last December, gives it a path into a much larger pool of workplace retirement plans, according to Fortune.

Brown Duckett took over TIAA during the pandemic, Fortune’s Alyson Shontell reported after interviewing her for the podcast “Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry.” According to Fortune, Brown Duckett did not meet the company’s board in person for more than a year after getting the job, and her first task was keeping the business operating through COVID-era disruption.

After that, Fortune reported, Brown Duckett focused on expanding TIAA’s retirement offerings through products built around guaranteed lifetime income. The Vanguard agreement puts TIAA’s annuity products in front of workers outside the company’s traditional institutional base, according to the report.

Brown Duckett discusses leadership approach

In the Fortune interview, Brown Duckett described her approach to time management as similar to managing an investment mix. “You only have 100% [of your time] to offer. You do not have 110%,” she told Fortune, saying she divides time across roles including executive, mother, wife, sister, aunt and philanthropist.

Brown Duckett also told Fortune she treats her chief executive role as temporary. “Yes, I am the CEO of a Fortune 100 company, and I am jealous of me in terms of what I get to do every day,” she said. “But it is rented. There will come a time when I will no longer be the CEO of TIAA.”

Fortune reported that Brown Duckett framed that view as a distinction between job status and personal character. She told the publication that she will remain Thasunda Brown Duckett after her time leading TIAA ends.

Brown Duckett also discussed her decision to leave JPMorgan for TIAA, according to Fortune. She said the opportunity began with a recruiter’s call and became a chance to run a full company while also making history.

Fortune reported that Brown Duckett said the timing of such career moves is not always perfect. She told the publication that after asking questions about the role, she concluded the TIAA job was “something that I can’t pass up.”

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.