Important Information from TIAA-CREF

HR Highlights

Plan Investment Option Changes

Merger-related Changes:

As a result of the upcoming mergers of several indexed TIAA-CREF Funds, the funds shown in the left-hand column of the table below will be closed to additional contributions and transfers on or around June 5, 2009. On or about June 12, 2009 participants with balances in any of these closing funds will have their accumulations automatically transferred to the corresponding TIAA-CREF Funds shown in the right-hand column. Shortly thereafter, the closing funds will be removed from the plan's investment menu.

CLOSING FUNDS (Merging From)	ACQUIRING FUNDS (Merging Into)
TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Growth Index Fund TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Value Index Fund	Existing Fund TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Blend Index Fund
TIAA-CREF Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund TIAA-CREF Mid-Cap Value Index Fund TIAA-CREF Mid-Cap Blend Index Fund	New Fund TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund

In addition, the fund[s] listed in the right-hand table of the column above will be added to the plan in order to facilitate these mergers.

TIAA-CREF participants receiving some or all of their retirement income from TIAA-CREF will receive annual variable annuity income statements.

On Tuesday, April 21, TIAA-CREF began mailing annual net change statements to all TIAA-CREF participants receiving some or all of their retirement income from the CREF and/or TIAA Real Estate variable annuity accounts. The statements provide personalized information detailing the changes to variable annuity income levels beginning May 1, 2009. The new income levels primarily reflect the accounts' net investment returns from April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009, and will therefore result in steep declines due to market volatility, particularly for those receiving a significant portion of their income from the CREF equity accounts. The statements will be accompanied by a letter from Scott Evans, Executive Vice President, TIAA-CREF Asset Management, and an Outreach newsletter explaining the changes and the underlying market conditions.

Updated resources on market volatility are available from TIAA-CREF.

TIAA-CREF has compiled "Tips for Retirement Savings in Turbulent Markets" designed for employees concerned about their retirement savings. It provides simple, practical suggestions for managing through the current market downturn.

One-on-one TIAA-CREF appointments are available.

Syracuse University employees who wish to schedule a one-on-one appointment with a TIAA-CREF advisor should call 477-9000 or 1-866-698-4221 for meetings on campus at 210 Steele Hall, or at the local TIAA-CREF office at 250 South Clinton Street, Suite 310 in Syracuse.

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