XML 163 R192.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.23.3
Label Element Value
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund seeks long-term total return, consisting of current income and capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 19% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 19.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain

the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the duration noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal investment strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund is a “fund of funds” that invests in Institutional Class shares of other funds of the Trust and in other investment pools or investment products, including other funds or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) advised by the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), or its affiliates (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). The Fund is designed for investors seeking long-term total return, consisting of current income and capital appreciation, through a relatively stable asset allocation strategy targeting a conservative risk-return profile. Advisors generally seeks to meet the Fund’s investment objective by investing: (1) approximately 40% of the Fund’s assets in equity Underlying Funds and (2) approximately 60% of the Fund’s assets in fixed-income Underlying Funds. The Fund may deviate from these target allocations by up to ten percentage points depending upon current market conditions and outlook.

The Underlying Funds’ allocation targets generally represent targets for investments in equity and fixed-income asset classes. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, Advisors allocates the Fund’s investments to particular market sectors (which may include U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income and short-term fixed-income) represented by various Underlying Funds. To maintain an appropriate allocation among the Underlying Funds, the portfolio managers monitor the domestic and foreign equity markets, as well as overall financial and economic conditions. The Fund may sometimes be more heavily weighted toward equities or fixed-income than the target allocations, if the portfolio managers believe market conditions warrant. For example, the Fund may increase its holdings in fixed-income Underlying Funds in periods when the

portfolio managers believe the equity markets will decline. The market sector allocations and Underlying Fund allocations may also be changed over time by the portfolio managers, including the addition and removal of market sectors and Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests in light of the Fund’s desired level of risk and potential return at a particular time as evaluated by the portfolio managers based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative factors. The portfolio managers may also opportunistically purchase other Funds or other investment pools or investment products, based on the portfolio managers’ evaluation of the market sectors and/or Underlying Funds, without prior notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund, market sector or asset class not listed in the chart below, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change.

As a result of its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s returns will reflect investments in a mix of domestic and foreign equities of companies of various sizes and market capitalizations and a variety of domestic and foreign fixed-income instruments of private and governmental issuers of varying maturities and credit qualities.

As part of the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment pools or investment products noted above, the Fund may invest in ETFs and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to gain exposure to various market sectors or securities in order to effect its asset allocation strategy. Additionally, the Fund may use ETFs and ETNs for cash management, hedging or defensive purposes. ETFs and ETNs will be subject to the risks associated with the types of securities or sectors that they track, while ETNs, which are structured as fixed-income obligations, will also be subject to the general risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk.

The Fund’s asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector as of June 30, 2023, are listed in the chart below. These allocations may change over time. Underlying Fund allocations in particular may change from year to year.

               

Asset Class

Allocation

  

Market Sector

Allocation

 

Underlying Funds

Allocation

Equity

40.55%

 

U.S. Equity

26.41%

 

 Nuveen Growth Opportunities ETF

4.41%

           

 TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Growth

4.39%

           

 TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value

3.92%

           

 Nuveen Dividend Value

3.91%

           

 TIAA-CREF Growth & Income

3.84%

           

 Nuveen Dividend Growth

3.82%

           

 TIAA-CREF Quant Small/Mid-Cap Equity

1.15%

           

 TIAA-CREF Quant Small-Cap Equity

0.97%

     

International Equity

14.14%

  

 TIAA-CREF International Equity

6.15%

           

 TIAA-CREF International Opportunities

3.67%

           

 TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity

2.38%

           

 TIAA-CREF Quant International Small-Cap Equity

1.94%

Fixed-Income

59.45%

 

Fixed-Income

39.68%

 

 TIAA-CREF Core Plus Bond

29.76%

           

 TIAA-CREF Core Bond

9.92%

     

Short-Term
Fixed-Income

19.77%

  

 TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond

19.77%

               

Total

100.00%

    

100.00%

    

100.00%
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal investment risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· Asset Allocation Risk—The risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.

· Underlying Funds Risks—The Fund is exposed to the risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to each Underlying Fund.

· Fixed-Income Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in fixed-income Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the fixed-income markets in general, such as:

· interest rate risk—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. Low interest rates may increase a Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates and a Fund may also be subject to heightened levels of interest rate risk due to rising interest rates (including a sharp rise in interest rates). In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the

markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility;

· prepayment risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing a Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income;

· extension risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing a Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available;

· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time;

· credit risk—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing, or may be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as not able or willing, to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due;

· credit spread risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities;

· income volatility risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments;

· market volatility, liquidity and valuation risk (types of market risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for a Fund to properly value its investments and that a Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all;

· fixed-income foreign investment risk—Investment in fixed-income securities or financial instruments of foreign issuers involves increased risks due to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts. These developments may impact the ability of a foreign debt issuer to make timely and ultimate payments on its debt obligations to a Fund or impair a Fund’s ability to enforce its rights against the foreign debt issuer. These risks are heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower overall liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to

adverse economic, market, political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States and other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make a Fund’s investments in such securities less liquid (or illiquid) or more difficult to value. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict; and

· call risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in a Fund’s income.

· Equity Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in equity Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the equity markets in general, such as:

· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. From time to time, a Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries;

· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time;

· foreign investment risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market,

political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make a Fund’s investments in such securities less liquid (or illiquid) or more difficult to value. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict;

· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when a Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser deems it appropriate. Stocks of mid-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility, lower trading volume and lower overall liquidity than the stocks of larger, more established companies;

· style risk—The risk that use of a particular investing style (such as growth or value investing) may fall out of favor in the marketplace for various periods of time and result in underperformance relative to the broader market sector or significant declines in the value of a Fund’s portfolio investments; and

· dividend-paying security risk—The risk that investments in dividend-paying securities could cause a Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends.

· Underlying ETF Risk—In addition to the same principal risks as an investment in a mutual fund with the same investment objectives, strategies and policies as the ETF, investments in an Underlying Fund that is an ETF are subject to additional risks, including: (i) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or a discount to their

net asset value (“NAV”); (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (iii) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of an ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged.

· Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or otherwise economically tied to emerging market countries. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Emerging market countries may also have less stringent regulation of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which would affect a Fund’s ability to evaluate potential portfolio companies. As a result, there could be less information available about issuers in emerging market countries, which could negatively affect Advisors’ ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on a Fund’s performance. Because the financial markets of emerging market countries may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these countries may have lower overall liquidity than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as a Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many emerging market countries. Moreover, legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited, and U.S. authorities may have less ability to bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.

· Illiquid Investments Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.

· Currency Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies.

· Active Management Risk—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors or another investment adviser or sub-adviser of an Underlying Fund could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives and may not produce expected returns.

· Fund of Funds Risk—The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend in part upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.

There can be no assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please

see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above, including the risks of the Underlying Funds.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Past performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of the Institutional Class of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year since inception of the Institutional Class. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of the Institutional Class may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of the Institutional Class for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for the Institutional, Advisor, Premier, Retirement and Retail classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2022, and how those returns compare to those of a broad-based securities market index and a composite index based on the Fund’s target allocations. After-tax performance is shown only for the Institutional Class shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Institutional Class shares.

The returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The indices listed below are unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the indices reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.tiaa.org.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.tiaa.org
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES (%)† Lifestyle Conservative Fund
Bar Chart Footnotes [Text Block] rr_BarChartFootnotesTextBlock

† The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on June 30, 2023, was 7.05%.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best quarter: 11.74%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -10.29%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Morningstar Moderately Conservative Target Risk Index  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Morningstar Moderately Conservative Target Risk Index
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.85%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.79%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.30%
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Lifestyle Conservative Fund Composite Index  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Lifestyle Conservative Fund Composite Index [1]
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.04%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.09%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.62%
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.07%
Acquired fund fees and expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.39% [2],[3]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.56%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.07%) [4]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.49%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination September 30, 2024
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 50
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 172
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 306
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 695
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 10.84%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 4.28%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 0.65%
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 5.43%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 12.12%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (4.43%)
Annual Return 2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 15.56%
Annual Return 2020 rr_AnnualReturn2020 12.15%
Annual Return 2021 rr_AnnualReturn2021 6.49%
Annual Return 2022 rr_AnnualReturn2022 (13.66%)
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on June 30, 2023, was
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Jun. 30, 2023
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn 7.05%
Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2020
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 11.74%
Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2020
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (10.29%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.66%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.64%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.59%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 09, 2011
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (15.19%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.08%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.18%
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (7.52%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.74%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.22%
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Advisor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.17%
Acquired fund fees and expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.39% [2],[3]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.66%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.07%) [4]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.59%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination September 30, 2024
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 60
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 204
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 361
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 816
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.75%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.53%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.54% [5]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 04, 2015
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Premier Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.15%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.09%
Acquired fund fees and expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.39% [2],[3]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.73%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.09%) [4]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.64%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination September 30, 2024
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 65
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 224
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 397
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 898
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.79%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.48%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.43%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 09, 2011
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Retirement Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.32%
Acquired fund fees and expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.39% [2],[3]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.81%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.07%) [4]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.74%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination September 30, 2024
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 76
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 252
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 443
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 995
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.83%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.39%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.33%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 09, 2011
TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | Retail Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption or exchange fee rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Account maintenance fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) rr_ShareholderFeeOther $ 15.00
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.09%
Acquired fund fees and expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.39% [2],[3]
Total annual Fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.83%
Waivers and expense reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.07%) [4]
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.76%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination September 30, 2024
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 78
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 258
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 454
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,019
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.83%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.37%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.31%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Dec. 09, 2011
[1]

As of the close of business on December 31, 2022, the Lifestyle Conservative Fund Composite Index consisted of: 40.0% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; 26.0% Russell 3000® Index; 20.0% Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index; and 14.0% MSCI All Country World Index ex USA Investable Market Index. The Fund’s composite benchmark, the components that make up a composite benchmark and the method of calculating a composite benchmark’s performance may vary over time.
[2]

Restated to reflect estimate for the current fiscal year.
[3]

“Acquired fund fees and expenses” are the Fund’s proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because “Acquired fund fees and expenses” are included in the chart above, the Fund’s operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial highlights in this Prospectus and the Fund’s annual report.
[4]

Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.10% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.25% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.25% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; (iv) 0.35% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (v) 0.45% of average daily net assets for Retail Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2024, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees.
[5]

The performance shown for the Advisor Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect higher expenses of the Advisor Class. If those expenses had been reflected, the performance would have been lower.