I have, through years of inadvertance, wound up with about half my AA in TIAA traditional. I'm not all that unhappy about it, since it will allow me to set up a fairly reasonable annuity when I retire in about a year that will be easier for my wife to deal with (should something happen to me first) than more complex investments would be. My question is whether it makes good sense to include the Vanguard TIPS fund in the other half of my AA. I know no one can predict the future, etc., or determine my risk level (I am aiming for about 40-45% in equities). But I'm not sure just what is in the TIAA traditional fund (which I obviously am overdue in learning about).

1. I'm assuming buying a treasury bond fund is redundant (am I right?). Put another way: any point in having a treasuring bond fund unless I want "pretty much more of the same as I have in the TIAA?"

2. But is the inflation protected security fund redundant, i.e., could it offer inflation protection that would not be there with the TIAA fund (should inflation be a problem over the next twenty or so years, something I'd like to protect against to the extent that I can)?

Thanks, C