TIAA Reviews 

I needed to make some allocation changes and had some questions. Contacted my rep in MI (they closed the Southfield office and didn’t tell customers). Was told to call the 800 number. Called the 800 number and was told to call my rep with my questions. The service is horrible. Used to be a good company. And we aren’t talking pennies for the value of the account,

I will mention just one incident which shows how unethical (and perhaps illegal) their operating practices are. Specifically, after messing up a phone transaction regarding movement of funds from my checking account into my retirement account so that it did not go through they admitted they owed me approximately $250 and said "they would make me whole". How did they do this? Rather than paying out-of-pocket which was what I expected they had the audacity to take the money out of my checking account and moved it into my retirement account!! They did not tell me they were going to do this or ask me if they could access my checking account. This must be illegal!! Overall, the mystique of Tiaa being above the fray because their clients are university professors and hospital administrators is gone: since going for profit, they have sunk to unheard of levels of immorality and will do anything to get more commissions from clients even if it hurts the clients in the process. The recent lawsuit reported in the NY Times in which they had to pay approximately 300 million dollars to clients for cheating them out of money and not acting in their best financial interest is testament to all of this. Tiaa, shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wasn't able to check my account for 2023, and I just checked and it is showing my account balance went to 0.00 in one day. How can this be possible? I am still confused.

Prior to April, 2023, TIAA was depositing 5 regular required minimum distribution payments into my bank account at the beginning of each month. In mid-March, after filing my taxes for tax year 2022, I submitted a request to increase withholding on my 3 taxable IRA accounts. This was done using a W-4R web form on the TIAA website. After that, on April 2, I noticed that one of my 5 direct deposits was not made. I had to call them and request that they manually deposit the missing payment. This deposit was finally completed on 4/14/23. Just to check that everything was back on track, I logged into the portal after the missing payment was deposited and noticed that the banking information for all three of my taxable IRA accounts had been changed to a non-existent bogus account, so I called and spent about an hour on the phone with a CSR trying to get the problem fixed. I was assured that a case was opened and a special representative would handle getting this all resolved. About a week later, I received an email giving me the name and contact info for this case. I called the analyst and he told me that, rather than being asked to resolve all of the banking deposit problems, he was only responsible for resolving one of the three accounts in error. He told me that he would work to resolve that one account and put in a request for another case to resolve the other two. None of that ever happened. I logged into my account again on 4/28/23. I noticed that the bank deposit information was still missing for all three IRA accounts and there was no way for me to fix it because the accounts had been completely removed from the retirement distributions list. So, I called in AGAIN and spoke with a Chauncy who supposedly verified that the 5/1/23 payments would be made for all 5 accounts and that the corrections that would allow me to see and manage distribution deposits for the accounts using the web portal were still underway. He told me he couldn't give me a date when things would be back to normal so if I wanted to change anything right now, I would need to call in. I was assured that, even though the banking information was not showing up on the web portal, that it was correct on the back end. Well, the payments for May were even more screwed up. On May 2, the only payments deposited in my account were for the two non-taxable Roth accounts. On 5/3/23, I called in AGAIN and spoke with Larry this time about not receiving the three taxable payments. I spent 45 minutes on and off hold and again got assurance the payments would be deposited in the next two days. Nope! On 5/9/23, I called TIAA again. This time I spoke to Ben. Went over the whole situation again and told him I still had not received the deposits or restoration of the distribution bank routing information for the 3 taxable accounts. He offered to pay me a one-time lump sum distribution instead of monthly payments. I think this was his way of 'fixing' this screwup. I emphatically told him that I didn't not want a lump sum but instead want the regular monthly payments just like what had been done prior to April, 2023. He told me he put in a work order to have the payments sent within 3 business days. At that point, I requested to speak to a manager about this. Ben told me his manager was in a meeting and other managers are unavailable. Ben told me his manager, Michael, would call back within 2 business days. Michael did actually call back, but despite assurances he (Michael) would ensure the problems would get resolved, nothing has changed and now he is not calling me back. One other interesting thing I noticed yesterday is that TIAA withdrew money from all 5 accounts on 5/1/23 but only deposited the withdrawn amounts from the two Roth accounts. The money withdrawn from the three taxable IRA accounts went who knows where??? I did not get those funds until 5/11 so my money was somewhere else for 10 days! Anyway, the problems are still not resolved after over 2 months and I don't know where to turn to get anyone there to help!

I have been having an absolutely atrocious time trying to rollover funds from my TIAA 401k to a new account. When I initially completed the paper work, I supplied wiring information because it did not specify if it was for mail or wiring. Rather than contacting me to verify the address, TIAA mailed a check to the wiring address which obviously didn't work. After repeatedly contacting them for updates, they told me the check had been returned and that I would have to start the rollover process from scratch once the funds were readded to my account. I wait another week, no funds are returned. I contact them again and am provided with completely different information. I am told that the funds would never be automatically reapplied, and that I should just provide the correct mailing information (WHICH I HAD TRIED TO DO PREVIOUSLY AND WAS DENIED). Following this, I asked for an email address so that I could keep a log of this information. The customer service rep refused to do so, claiming that they had no emails to contact.

The worst bank we have ever experienced in a lifetime of dealing with banks around the world. Without notice or warning, they appropriated both our balances for inactivity and now cannot account for them. At first we operated on the hunch it was identity theft but after never being given a manager to account to us we discovered the money was supposedly given to the state, but we promptly confirmed with the state this was never done. We have called their one customer-service number repeatedly to no avail, written many times to Support for help, but all we get are mailed promises "we will reply to you shortly" which never happens. Even the $20m-a-year CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett ghosts us while parading as a moral influencer talking about
"Character" as her top priority. Even the BBB refuses to accredit this disreputable institution. TIAA does not follow norms/bank protocol. Stay away. They lie
routinely. Customer service is a waste of time. They send you in circles. With the worst reviews out there, TIAA is shameless. To think they do this to teachers!

I thought retiring would be a relatively simple procedure with TIAA payouts for life. The associate assigned to me was very nice, available and tried to be helpful but I think the fault lies with TIAA itself. Most retirement accounts, you name a beneficiary and if you pass away the beneficiary receives your payouts. With TIAA you are charged for a specific length of time that a beneficiary may receive your benefits if you pass away. I chose 20 years meaning that if I die within 20 years after receiving benefits my spouse will continue to receive my payouts but not after the 20 year period expires. I was charged for this "service". On another note, it was nearly impossible to pin down exactly how much my monthly payouts for life would amount to. I was finally given a ballpark figure but the contract I was sent had a much lower figure. I was told that I would receive the agreed upon amount (even though there is no legal document to back that up) and would only receive the substantially lower amount in the contract under very rare circumstances that have only happened 3 times in the past 90 years. The lack of a formal legal document stating how much I will actually receive monthly is frightening. The lower amount in the actual contract is all they are legally bound to pay and can default to that amount for any reason they choose. I also have to add that the application process to access my own money for retirement was byzantine, confusing and not entirely up front. They have all the hallmarks of a shady business. I hope my monthly payouts remain constant and I regret having to forfeit some of my hard earned money so that my wife will be guaranteed to receive my pension for a period of time. I could have chosen the option for her to receive my payouts for an unlimited period of time but this was too costly for me to consider. Again, my primary contact at TIAA was mostly helpful, available and responsive but it is TIAA's policies that are suspect. Another contact never answered my numerous emails. If I could do it over again I'd choose a different retirement financial management company.

One of the worst bank experiences you can have. If you like a good bank try Primis or Lending Club, you will regret this one

I retired in 2017 and my wife passed away in early 2021. Other than a rollover of her account, Iive not heard from TIAA since meeting with an advisor more than 5 years ago shortly after retirement.
I'm considering moving the assets to Fidelity or a another discount broker since I'm not looking for anything more than solid performing (4 star+) mutual funds or ETFs.

Experienced the same frustrating event that was reported by BioProf. After several days on the phone I gave up on trying to increase the federal withhold rate for my RMD in accounts held by TIAA-CREF. I resolved the problem in 30 seconds with a click of a mouse in a parallel IRA account held in Vanguard. More upsetting I have 2 TIAA-CREF traditional accounts which are both in the processes of undergoing 10 year systematic withdrawals. On March 1st the interest on ALL not some TIAA-traditional accounts were supposed to undergo an annual revision. This year due to the enormous increase in the interest rates the payout was significantly increased. This up grade,however, did not show up for these two accounts. When I enquired I was told that the increase would be instituted at the time of the next payouts 7 and 11 months from March 1st. This floored me and I have not been able to find any written statement in the contracts or on the TIAA-CREF web site consistent with this policy. Congratulations to TIAA-CREF they appeared to have developed a new way of screwing their clients and pocketing the millions of dollars in interest owed them. If anyone else has had this experience please post. I am looking into legal action.

Terrible terrible terrible horrible , employees are liars lazy low IQ , they refuse to give me my money , stay far away from these thiefs.

I have been trying to get my funds out of TIAA since mid December of last year. I still have no answer on this. I have asked to speak to a supervisor. They claim their process is to have one call you back in 24-48 hours. I have requested 12+ times and have not yet received that call. They are full of excuses and it is an endless game of "just wait" just be patient. Someone named Marcus told me "you know how the mail is." Sorry Marcus, I don't think it takes 3 months to receive a document, if it was really sent. That suggestion was one of the least customer friendly, among many that were received. I wouldn't invest with them under any circumstances. They are the worst I have ever dealt with or even heard about. I would rate them a -5.

TIAA has been one of the most stressful parts of my father’s death. His accounts with them have been very difficult to get where they needed to go. I called 15 times every time there is a different answer. Spend hours on the phone being transferred. I send in forms then have to call and they say they were not received after I sent them UPS overnight and it proof of time and delivery. Then they would admit they did have the papers but they cannot look them up by my name. I went down to Fidelity, who I use, to help me with TIAA they called with me and were surprised how difficult they were. We asked to talk to a supervisor (no I am not a Karen) because we were transferred 7 times to no avail and the supervisor said I did not need a medallion signature and told us which forms. I could’ve gotten the signature that day and instead the paperwork was sent in and then rejected for not having medallion signature. I had to drive again two hours take the day off work to go get the paperwork done with the medallion signature and that was just a small part of the runaround I got with TIAA.

Absolute nightmare. Would give zero stars if available. Simply trying to get my 403(b) RMD payout with the withholding that I want (above the minimum). Different answers from different reps and the top-level resolution guy expresses his frustration in dealing with the tax department that does not understand their own W4P and W4R versions of the IRS withholding forms. It is a different nightmare each year and every year is worse than the last.

It has been a nightmare recently. 1. I ordered a contribution transaction but for a month could not get through and no one tells me the situation and the reason. When I complained about the service, I was told it was my fault. I was trapped in the crack between their departments for weeks even with my advisory team’s help. 2. A transaction order submitted in the process center was ignored for weeks without explanation till my advisory team came to rescue; 3. A completed transaction was reversed without my authorization and notice. How can a customer trust this system that each completed transaction was secured and will not be reversed weeks later. Based on the above facts, TIAA has very bad customer service, especially their customer resolution team staff who failed to take the customers’ grievance as an opportunity to improve their operation, instead to prevent the TIAA operation system from improving and rejuvenating. The top TIAA management should pay attention to details of their internal operation and create a customer friendly firm culture. These problems will affect TIAA’s reputation and business in the long run.

Set up an annuity. A future deposit to it was missed.
Lots of excuses made.
Next month wanted to check my loses and gains in about 100 company stocks (brokerage account). Reps lied that cost basis was not sent by previous plan. In fact, it was sent 7 months before and not entered. I said I'm closing out the account because of this lack of integrity. Customer service "ghosted me". Brokerage said they wanted $55 for each transfer if I closed it out. I had to spend 4 hours to sell the stocks myself going through multiple screens and dropdown menus. One Rep forgot to put me onhold when he consulted with another. I overheard and recorded the totally disrespectful customer attitudes exchanged. This has to be leadership. It is disgusting to think I should trust them.

Absolutely the WORST company i have dealt with. I attempted to withdraw my money, I wanted it sent to my daughters house because I just changed jobs and did not have a new address.....they absolutely REFUSED to send the money where i wanted it sent. they said my ONLY option was direct deposit. I set up the direct deposit and get the run around again. These people are THIEVES! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE CROOKS!!

After reading the reviews posted here I find that my feelings are validated. TIAA-CREF is poor when it comes to supporting client needs. It is unnecessarily vague and complex. The information one needs to process options at retirement is confusing or not easy to find. There is no simple step-by-step guide to how to exercise options. Too many calls are required. Requirements for signing forms are downright silly and archaic. Questions go unanswered. The advisors I've spoken to offer generic advice, nothing really useful and they fail to listen. If I had to do it all over again, I definitely would not use TIAA-CREF

BEWARE Green card holders/permanent residents. TIAA Traditional is paid out over 10 years, we were not explicitly told that when signing in 2002, nor in 2021 by their agent when discussing retirement. We are relocating back to home country and will be subject to Exit Tax and double taxation on our TIAA funds! Company response was "you signed the contract" and "it's in the statements"

I knew I had an upcoming need to access $10,000 for a car purchase and planned to make my first withdrawal from my TIAA 403B so I called about six weeks in advance to ask how long that withdrawal process would be. 4-5 days, I was told. So when the time came to start the withdrawal my lead time with the dealership was ten days. I called TIAA to start the process and they said they had an issue with verifying my bank account. Even though the test deposits and withdrawal to my account occurred (and I can see them on my statement) they claimed that there was a problem with the verification "that they had never seen before." They told me the only way that I could withdraw MY money from MY account was by check, which will take longer. THEN they finally looked at what kind of account I had and said "Oh, we have to go to your former employer to okay this withdrawal and that will take 30 days." I am now scurrying to sweep together any money I can get from my savings account and credit card and begging from family members to come up with the $10,000 in time to get my car and not lose my $1000 deposit. An embarrassing and expensive process for me with wiring fees and credit card interest rates. The second the TIAA check comes in I am taking my retirement account away from them. They haven't apologized or done anything to fix a problem they have caused and I'm sure they could care less about my measly retirement account. Steer clear.