# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0001068204
**File Stem:** 0000930413-25-003143
**Filing Date:** 2025-9
**Character Count:** 35422
**Document Hash:** 8f8c6cc1c01981dbf44d6d2c4179f246
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0000930413-25-003143.hdr.sgml**: 20250930

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0000930413-25-003143

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 497K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 4

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20250930

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20250930

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20250930

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** TIAA-CREF LIFE FUNDS
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0001068204

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 000000000
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 497K
- **SEC ACT:** 1933 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 333-61759
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251358231

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 730 THIRD AVE
- **CITY:** NEW YORK
- **STATE:** NY
- **ZIP:** 10017
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 212-490-9000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 730 THIRD AVE
- **CITY:** NEW YORK
- **STATE:** NY
- **ZIP:** 10017

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** TIAA CREF LIFE FUND
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19980813

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### Nuveen Life Balanced Fund (Series ID: S000043737)

| Class ID   | Class Name                | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000135632 | Nuveen Life Balanced Fund | TLBAX           |

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| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| ![](img_ba393f0f53844.jpg) | **Nuveen <br>Life Funds** | **Summary Prospectus** |

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## Nuveen Life Balanced Fund
**MAY 1, 2025, AS SUPPLEMENTED SEPTEMBER 30, 2025**

Ticker: TLBAX

*This summary prospectus is designed to provide investors with key Fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's complete prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.tiaa.org/tclf_pro. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-223-1200 or by sending an email request to disclosure@tiaa.org. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated May 1, 2025, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.* 

#### Investment objective
The Fund seeks long-term total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

#### Fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The expenses shown do not reflect any separate account fees or expenses deducted under the variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies using the Fund as an underlying investment option.

**SHAREHOLDER FEES** (fees paid directly from your investment)

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (percentage of offering price) | 0% |
| Maximum deferred sales charge | 0% |
| Maximum sales charge imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions | 0% |
| Redemption fee | 0% |
| Exchange fee | 0% |

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Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1

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**ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES** (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| Management fees | 0.10%  |
| Other expenses | 0.12%  |
| Acquired fund fees and expenses<sup>1</sup> | 0.41%  |
| Total annual Fund operating expenses | 0.63%  |
| Waivers and expense reimbursements<sup>2</sup> | (0.12)%  |
| Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement | 0.51%  |

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| 1 | "Acquired fund fees and expenses" are the Fund's proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which the Fund invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly as a result of the Fund's investments. 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. |
| 2 | Under the Fund's expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund's investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, 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 0.10% of average daily net assets for shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least April 30, 2026, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |

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#### Example
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. The example does not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy and the costs in the example would be higher if it did. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| 1 year | $52 |
| 3 years | $190 |
| 5 years | $339 |
| 10 years | $775 |

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#### Portfolio turnover
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. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During

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the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 12% of the average value of its portfolio.

#### Principal investment strategies
The Fund is a "fund of funds" that is permitted to invest in shares of other Nuveen Life Funds, in Class R6 shares of Nuveen mutual funds and potentially in other affiliated or unaffiliated investment pools or investment products, including other funds 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 capital appreciation and current income, through a relatively stable asset allocation strategy targeting a moderate risk-return profile. Advisors generally seeks to meet the Fund's investment objective by investing: (1) approximately 50% of the Fund's assets in equity Underlying Funds and (2) approximately 50% 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 and 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 Nuveen Life Funds, Nuveen mutual 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.

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.

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3

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As part of the Fund's ability to invest in unaffiliated investment products or pools noted above, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds ("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 proposed asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector 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** | 49.84% | U.S. Equity | 39.87% |  Nuveen Life Core Equity | 9.96% |
|  |  |  |  |  Nuveen Life Growth Equity | 9.77% |
|  |  |  |  |  Nuveen Life Large Cap Value | 8.18% |
|  |  |  |  |  Nuveen Life Stock Index | 8.00% |
|  |  |  |  |  Nuveen Life Real Estate Securities Select | 2.00% |
|  |  |  |  |  Nuveen Life Small Cap Equity | 1.96% |
|  |  | International Equity | 9.97% |  Nuveen Life International Equity | 9.97% |
| **Fixed-Income** | 50.16% | Fixed-Income | 50.16% |  Nuveen Life Core Bond | 50.16% |

---

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total** | 100.00% |

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#### Principal investment risks
You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. Accordingly, an investment in the Fund typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a Fund may fluctuate rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including responses to government actions or interventions,

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or 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. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund's shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer's earnings prospects, credit rating 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. 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 the Fund's investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Fund's ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make the 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5

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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; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· interest rate risk—The risk that changes in interest rates can adversely affect the value or liquidity of, and income generated by, fixed-income investments. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are changing. There is a risk that interest rates across the financial system may change, possibly significantly and/or rapidly. In general, changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, or a lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income or debt markets, making it more difficult for the Fund to sell fixed-income investments. When interest rates change, the values of longer duration fixed-income securities usually change more than the values of shorter duration fixed-income securities. Conversely, fixed-income securities with shorter durations or maturities will be less volatile but may provide lower returns than fixed-income securities with longer durations or maturities. Other factors that may affect the value of debt securities include, but are not limited to, economic, political, public health, and other crises and responses by governments and companies to such crises;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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;

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer's earnings prospects, credit rating 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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. Actual or perceived changes in economic, social, public health, financial or political conditions in general or that affect a particular type of investment, issuer, guarantor or counterparty can reduce the ability of the party to meet its obligations, which can affect the credit quality, liquidity and/or value of an investment;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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 developed 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

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7

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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. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. 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 the Fund's investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Fund's ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make the 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

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· 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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk**—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or those 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 the 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 the 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 and may be more vulnerable to market manipulation. In addition, foreign investors such as the 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

8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; **Summary Prospectus** ■ Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund

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to enforce certain regulatory or legal obligations or otherwise bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **Foreign Investment Underlying Funds 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. 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. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. 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 the Fund's investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Fund's ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make the 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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **Active Management Risk**—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies and may not produce the desired results or expected returns.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **Portfolio Construction Risk**—The risk that Advisors may be influenced by potential conflicts of interest in its construction and management of the Fund's portfolio since the Fund's performance may affect an affiliated insurance company's exposure under its variable annuity contracts.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;· **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.

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9

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*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.*

#### Past performance
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 shares of the Fund during the preceding ten-year period.. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns for a calendar quarter during the same period. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund's average annual total returns over the one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods (where applicable) ended December 31, 2024, and how those returns compare to those of certain broad-based securities market indices and a composite index based on the Fund's target allocations. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Fund has selected the Russell 3000 Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, each of which represent a broad measure of market performance, and is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Fund invests. Returns do not reflect fees and expenses of any variable annuity or variable life insurance contract and would be lower if they did.

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

*For current performance information of the Fund, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance* or call 800-257-8787.

10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; **Summary Prospectus** ■ Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund

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#### ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%)

#### Nuveen Life Balanced Fund
![PerformanceBarChartData(2015:1.28, 2016:6.14, 2017:13.82, 2018:-5.47, 2019:18.81, 2020:14.16, 2021:9.78, 2022:-16.59, 2023:15.77, 2024:10.38)](img_ece08b29f9844.jpg)

Best quarter: 13.40%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -11.89%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11

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#### AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2024

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| | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
|  | **Inception date** | **One year** | **Five years** | **Ten years** |
| **Nuveen Life Balanced Fund** | 1/31/2014 | 10.38% | 5.96% | 6.26% |
| Russell 3000<sup>®</sup> Index |  |  |  |  |
| (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |  | 23.81% | 13.86% | 12.55% |
| Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index |  |  |  |  |
| (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |  | 1.25% | –0.33% | 1.35% |
| Morningstar Moderately Conservative Target Risk Index |  |  |  |  |
| (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |  | 6.40% | 3.88% | 4.71% |
| Balanced Fund Composite Index<sup>‡</sup> |  |  |  |  |
| (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |  | 10.16% | 6.01% | 6.38% |
| *Current performance of the Fund's shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.* | *Current performance of the Fund's shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.* | *Current performance of the Fund's shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.* | *Current performance of the Fund's shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.* | *Current performance of the Fund's shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.* |

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| |
|:---|
| <sup>‡</sup> |
| After-tax returns have not been shown because they are not relevant since Fund shares currently are held only through insurance company separate accounts. |
| A |

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#### Portfolio management
**Investment Adviser.** Teachers Advisors, LLC.

#### Portfolio Managers.

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **Name:** | **John Cunniff, CFA** | **Steve Sedmak, CFA** | **&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jeff Sun, CFA** |
| Title: | Managing Director | Managing Director | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Senior Director |
| Experience on Fund: | since 2014 | since 2020 | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;since 2025 |

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#### Purchase and sale of Fund shares
Please contact the insurance company that issued your variable annuity or life insurance contract for more information on the purchase and sale of Fund shares.

#### Tax information
Because the only shareholders of the Fund are the insurance companies offering the contracts, no discussion is included here about the federal income tax consequences at the shareholder level. The federal income tax consequences for purchases of a variable annuity or life insurance contract are described in the prospectus for such contracts.

12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; **Summary Prospectus** ■ Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund

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#### Payments to insurance companies and broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation
The Fund is only available as an underlying investment for the contracts. The Fund and its distributor (and their related companies) may make payments to the sponsoring insurance company (or its affiliates) and to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries for distribution and/or other services. These payments may be a factor that the insurance company considers in including the Fund as an underlying investment option in the variable contract. Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary to recommend a variable product and the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit the website of the insurance company or the financial intermediary for more information. The disclosure document for your variable contract may contain additional information about these payments.

Nuveen Life Funds ■ Balanced Fund ■ **Summary Prospectus** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13

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![](img_1bb44fa7d5594.jpg)<br>

<br>MPM-LFBAL-0925P

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