COLLEGE RETIREMENT EQUITIES FUND (“CREF”)

SUPPLEMENT NO. 1

dated August 1, 2018

to the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”)

dated May 1, 2018

Bridget A. Macaskill did not stand for re-election at the end of her term as a Trustee of CREF, and thus no longer serves as a Trustee of CREF. Therefore, effective immediately, all references in the SAI to Ms. Macaskill being a Trustee of CREF are hereby deleted. Also, effective immediately, the total number of Trustees as set forth in the first sentence currently appearing under the sub-section entitled “Board leadership structure and related matters” of the sub-section entitled “The Board of Trustees” of the section entitled “Management of CREF” on page 31 of the SAI is hereby decreased from ten to nine.

Effective immediately, the following hereby replaces in their entirety sections (1)-(6) currently appearing under the sub-section entitled “Board committees” of the section entitled “Management of CREF” on page 38 of the SAI.

(1)	An Audit and Compliance Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities relating to financial reporting, internal controls over financial reporting and certain compliance matters. The Audit and Compliance Committee is charged with approving and/or recommending for Board approval the appointment, compensation and retention (or termination) of the Accounts’ independent registered public accounting firm. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Audit and Compliance Committee held five meetings. The current members of the Audit and Compliance Committee are Prof. Poterba (chair), Prof. Eberly, Mr. Kenny, Mr. Sloan and Prof. Starks. Mr. Sloan has been designated as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the rules of the SEC.
(2)	An Investment Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for the Accounts’ investments. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Investment Committee held six meetings. The current members of the Investment Committee are Mr. Sloan (chair), Mr. Berkley, Prof. Eberly, Ms. Eckl, Mr. Forrester, Prof. Jackson, Mr. Kenny, Prof. Poterba and Prof. Starks.
(3)	A Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for corporate social responsibility and corporate governance issues, including the voting of proxies of portfolio companies of the Accounts. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committee held four meetings. The current members of the Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Committee are Prof. Starks (chair), Prof. Eberly, Prof. Poterba and Mr. Sloan.
(4)	An Executive Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which generally is vested with full Board powers for matters that arise between Board meetings. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Executive Committee held no meetings. The current members of the Executive Committee are Mr. Kenny (chair), Ms. Eckl, Mr. Forrester, Prof. Jackson and Prof. Poterba.
(5)	A Nominating and Governance Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which assists the Board in addressing internal governance matters of CREF, including nominating certain CREF officers and the members of the standing committees of the Board, recommending candidates for election as Trustees, reviewing the qualification and independence of Trustees, conducting evaluations of the Trustees and of the Board and its committees and reviewing proposed changes to CREF’s governing documents. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Nominating and Governance Committee held thirteen meetings. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Mr. Forrester (chair), Ms. Eckl, Prof. Jackson and Mr. Kenny.

(6) An Operations Committee, consisting solely of independent Trustees, which assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for operational matters of the Accounts, including oversight of contracts with third-party service providers and certain legal, compliance, finance, sales and marketing matters. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Operations Committee held five meetings. The current members of the Operations Committee are Ms. Eckl (chair), Mr. Berkley, Mr. Forrester and Prof. Jackson.

A40315 (8/18)