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Business Profile

Pension and Profit Sharing Plans

TIAA-CREF

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for TIAA-CREF's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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TIAA-CREF has 2 locations, listed below.

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    • TIAA-CREF

      8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd Charlotte, NC 28262-8500

    • TIAA-CREF

      PO Box 1265 Charlotte, NC 28201-1265

    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 63 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 8 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/24/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I withdrew money from my retirement *** and was mailed a check from ****. I deposited the check to my bank and the check was returned due to insufficient funds. I called TIAA and this issue has not been resolved. No one seems to know where my money is or why the check was returned. This is not the first incident with TIAA. Back in September and October there were wire transfers to pay back loans against my retirement and they said they never received the payments and the bank did not have my money either. I had missing money. Eventually the bank was able to get the funds back for me. I think there is something very suspicious about TIAA. I have attached the the check that is insufficient funds.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/03/2025

      See attached response. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/03/2025

       
      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

      Thank you. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/13/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am power of attorney for my 91 year old mother, ********** **********, who has approximately $3,100 in an employer plan with ****. To date, she has been receiving the required minimum distribution for this account which this November was $256.30. In a quarterly statement for 1 April - 30 June 2024, **** stated "Based on your account balance above as of the date above and Department of Labor assumption requirements, which does not include projections for future contributions or future investment experience, your single-life annuity monthly payment at age 91 would be $71.45 for the rest of your life,....."Our mother recently moved into an assisted living facility and decided that a monthly annuity would be more beneficial for her for this account.On 13 November 2024 my brother ***** ********** and I had conference call with ***** *****, Team Manager at TIAA Cref location in ******, ***** to change payment from this account from required minimum distribution to single life annuity monthly payment as described in her quarterly statements. We asked ***** to help us make this change.***** told us that she cannot convert this account to a single life annuity because our mother is over 90 years of age. He explained that, had we converted the account before she turned 90, it was perfectly possible. We told ***** that at no point did statements indicate that conversion of the account had to occur before age 90 and that illustrations continued to indicate what she could be receiving at age 91.We told ***** that, since documents we received indicated we could have single life monthly annuity option, TIAA should honor our request. He said he would forward our request to ********************* in *********, **. He could not provide us with his email address or his supervisor's name. We asked him to document in writing our conversation and his responses to our questions, which he was not willing to do. He finally provided his phone number: **************.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/11/2024

      Please refer to the attached. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/28/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I need the funds to purchase my primary home, but I requested a hardship withdrawal from my retirement account on September 30th. I have submitted all the required paperwork (see attachment), yet TIAA keeps stating that my request is incomplete. During my last two calls to customer service, they assured me everything was in order, and the request should be processed, but that has not *********** seems that **** does not want to release the funds.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/30/2024

      Date of transaction: October 28th, 2024 Issue: It seems TIAA received the original complaint, BB #********, as they reviewed my withdrawal request. Yet they only processed it for $12,000 when all the documents submitted, including a letter from the bank and a good faith estimate with property value and loan amount, clearly indicate that I need $65,000 for the down payment in addition to the $12,000 closing cost. This is a total of $77,000, which I have in my retirement account, ready to be assessed. I immediately called and received conflicting and erroneous information.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/30/2024

      Please see the attached response to this complaint. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/01/2024

       
      I am rejecting this response because:

       

       I am working with the bank to amend the Good Faith ******** to indicate the need for the down payment. But what guarantees do I have that I will not get the same runaround with this new hardship request that I am now forced to file?

       

      It took more than 30 days to obtain the information needed to obtain the needed amount, only after I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and contacted my employer's HR Department for assistance. 

      That is unacceptable.

      Had I been initially informed what was needed, I wouldn't have had to file another hardship withdrawal. I called countless times and received a different answer every time, with the representatives guessing what was needed. In one of my last interactions, I was erroneously informed that it was up to **** to approve the request regardless of supporting documentation and the amount available for withdrawal.

      The delay in getting the information, the resulting stress, and the lack of accountability are not just disappointing; they're deeply concerning. 

      So again, what guarantees are you offering that this new hardship withdrawal request, which I should have avoided having to file if I was given the appropriate guidance, will be handled appropriately?


      Business Response

      Date: 11/08/2024

      Please see the attached response to the follow up complaint by Ms. *********

       

      Sincerely,

       

      **** ****
      Sr Customer Resolution Manager Law Liaison | ***********************
      TIAA


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/26/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      My ex spouse left me an annuity Tiaa requested a death certificate of which I provided then they state because the the cause of death was deferred they will not pay until the cause of death is Changed. I called coroners office they say it will **** *-9 months to update this. I asked for supervisor told one would call on 48 hrs . This is a 100 percent vested acct I do not understand why they need a cause of death. When I asked them to send me a letter stating they need a cause of death on death cert I was told they could not do this.I find this to be ridiculous please give me my inheritance.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/31/2024

      Please refer to the attached

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/25/2024

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Beginning in January 2024, **** stopped taking out the Nebraska State Tax from my *** retirement account. I have called far too many times with no resolution. I was previously (in March 2024) told that the issue would take until september to resolve. On wednesday , 10/23/2024 I was told that a Supervisor woulfd get back to me within 2 days to try and resolve this issue. There has been no attempt to reach me as of today 10/25/2024. I was informed on one of the conversations with the IT department that this was a Nebraska state tax issue ... I was not the only one affected. If it were a problem with the State of Nebraska"s computerized system,I would not have recieved a disbursement from my wife's 401k account from TIAA (in the same State), which correctly deducted the proper amount of State Income Tax. This is unacceptable customer service, or should I say lack of service. There is no way in H*** it would take this long to find the problem and fix it. They say that they treat all customers the same, but I do not believe that. If I were someone with connections and money I am certain this problem would have their utmost attention. I have tried to be patient, but this has gone on far too long. In all fairness, all of the people that I have talked to have been attentive to my complaint and very polite and understanding. I would rather have a surly customer service *** that would resolve the problem. Maybe you can have an effect on their response to this very fixable problem. If not then I guess I will have to remove our accounts and transfer them to a company who wants my business. We have been with **** since 1996, and always had decent service without problems. However, now I would rank them at the bottom of a list of companies that do business with for their lack of attention to their customers problems.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/08/2024

      Please see attached response letter.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/19/2024

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      In the last year I have tried to rollover funds in my **** after-tax retirement account to two IRAs at ******** (a **** for contributions and a traditional for earnings). My contract for the **** plainly provides for such tax-free rollovers. Despite this, **** refuses to complete the rollover, insisting that the product is an annuity that requires a 1035 rollover.I consulted both my accountant and a tax attorney, both of whom agreed that the contract provides for the rollover I wish to do. I sent the letter from the tax attorney to ****, but it continues to refuse to compete the rollover.Though the email response from **** was unclear, it appears top claim, erroneously, that my investment is a variable annuity, an insurance product. However, in my online account, it is included with "retirement assets." I do own a separate variable annuity through the ***********************. It is listed separately online as a variable annuity. I have always understood that it is an annuity that would require a 1057 rollover. However, the investment that I am seeking to rollover is not managed by the insurance division.The response from **** also seems to indicate that they changed the nature of my investment at some point, without my permission, and in violation of the language of my contract.For your review, I have attached 1) a copy of the contract (the relevant language is on page 8); 2) a copy of the letter from the tax attorney 3) the **** response to that letter; 4) ascreenshot of my online **** retirement accounts; and 5) copies of bills from my tax attorney.I hope that you can help me with this very frustrating situation.Thanks,***** ****

      Business Response

      Date: 10/24/2024

      Please see the attached written response. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/28/2024

       
      I am rejecting this response because:
      1) It ignores the plain language of the contract, which states:
      The following provlsion is added to the General Provisions:
      Right to aTax-Free Rollover.   If you receive a distribution from your certificate which qualifies as an eligible rollover distribution under IRC Section 402(c)(4), you may elect to have any portion of it paid as a direct rollover to an eligible retirement plan, as described below.
      This contract language is confirmed by the opinion of the tax attorney.  He states: "The terms of the **** contract clearly provide that you have a right to a tax-free rollover."  The response from **** takes out of context the language in the letter from the tax attorney I consulted. That attorney clearly stated: "A 1035 exchange would only apply when dealing with a non-qualified annuity to another non-qualified annuity.  Both your **** annuity and the Vanguard account would be treated as qualified retirement accounts/annuities."
      2) the response ignores IRS guidelines with respect to non qualified (that is, after tax) contributions to a retirement fund. Those guidelines provide:
      "Distributions sent to multiple destinations at the same time are treated as a single distribution for allocating pretax and after-tax amounts (Notice *******). This means you can roll over all your pretax amounts to a traditional *** or retirement plan and all your after-tax amounts to a different destination, such as a **** ***."  (*********************************************************************************************) Nowhere in the contract is there any language defining the account as a non-qualified annuity.  In fact, as my attorney points out, quite the contrary. My request that **** provide a legal opinion explaining why they should not be required to comply with the terms of the contract has been ignored.







      Business Response

      Date: 10/29/2024

      Please see the attached response. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/12/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Unfortunately Social Security declared me deceased on 7/30/2024. Learning this on August 9th I called TIAA (among other places). The *** said they had no evidence of this and all was fine. On 8/13 TIAA recalled two of my annuity payments. I immediately called. ***** (***) said they had been notified by SS of the error and it would take 3-5 business days to correct the error and return the money. I called on 8/26 and spoke to ***** again - he said it would be fixed any day now. Called again on 8/30 and spoke to *******. He claimed I was given mis information and it took 5 days to process the error and it take another 5 days to refund my money. It was already 14 days. He said the money would be returned by Monday. I called on Monday and spoke to *******. She stated she spoke to the "team" and her supervisor assured her the funds were in process and would be back in my bank account later in the day on Monday or early Tuesday. It is 3:30 on Tuesday and nothing has been returned. I could call and spend ***** minutes on the phone only to the same story again - Perhaps filing a complain will prompt further action or necessitated legal assistance to have the funds returned to me. I understand this is an unusual situation. However, ********, my insurance, my pension, my financial institutions (chase and ****** *****) all corrected the situation in 5 days. Why can't TIAA follow through - as promised.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/19/2024

      Please see attached, 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/07/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On June 7th I tried to roll over my *** from TIAA cref to my new financial advisor. I had a phone call today with TIAA to give approval. I was told everything was approved and I just need to sign a document on the website. This was a lie. I have answered over 20 questions that **** has no need for other than to invasively get my personal information and make it more difficult to move funds. Every question was already asked and answered on the phone earlier today.

      Business Response

      Date: 06/14/2024

       

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/03/2024

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      As noted on the enclosed document, TIAA-CREF will not rollover my voluntary 403b funds from a prior employer (***************************) to my *** with a different vendor. I am 68 and I resigned my prior position on 12-21-21. I first tried to roll these funds to my *** in late January of 2022. I tried this again in late April of 2024. Please see the attached document for more detail. Delivery of my voluntary vested 403b funds to my *** is my primary goal.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/10/2024

      See attached response regarding this issue.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/26/2024

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      **** sent a rollover of $113,052.41 to my **** account at ******* ****** four weeks ago. The payment number was **********. However, TIAA didnt report my account number to ******* ******, and **** didnt respond to inquiries from ******* ******. ******* ****** resent the check to TIAA and I dont know about the current status. Though I want to contact Tiaa to know the current status, their message center and contact websites are fraudulent, and they only lead to expired webpage or irrelevant webpage. They even dont have an email address for clients to contact and they are avoiding any contact from their clients. I am currently abroad and I made international calls to tiaa several times. But my calls were not answered. I would like TIAA to send me an email or message, and I want to know about the current status of my rollover request.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/02/2024

      May 2, 2024.

      Estefani *************************** Serving ******** N.C and S.C and Western N.C.
      **********************
      ************ 28105


      Re:  BBB Case # ********
             TIAA ***********************************************

      I am responding to Dr. ************* complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) which was received by **** on April 26.In his complaint he mentioned difficulties experienced with his rollover to ******* ******.

      Upon review, I confirmed that **** received his request to roll his retirement accumulations to ******* ****** on March 18. His request required additional information prior to processing. The additional information was received on March 26 and his rollover check in the amount of $113,052.41 was mailed to the alternate carrier on March 28. Unfortunately, the payment details did not include his ******* ****** account number, so the payment was returned to TIAA on April 11. **** reapplied the funds to his TIAA retirement account, using the original effective date the rollover was processed.

      As ************** directed in his April 26 email communication, we have reprocessed his rollover to ******* ******. Payment in the amount of $113,052.41 was mailed to ******* ****** on April 30, and I have confirmed that the check included his ******* ****** account number.

      We regret the frustration he experienced with his rollover. We remain committed to meeting his service expectations and hope that his future experiences with us will reflect our service commitment.

      For specific questions related to this inquiry, you can contact me directly at ************. ************* may also contact TIAA consultants at ************ weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET).
      Additional TIAA information can also be found on our website at TIAA.org.

      Sincerely,
      ***************************
      Senior Customer Resolution Manager

      cc:***************************

    TIAA-CREF is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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