Reviews

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

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  TIAA-CREF

  8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd Charlotte, NC 28262-8500

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  TIAA-CREF

  PO Box 1265 Charlotte, NC 28201-1265

Review Details

• Review fromAllison L

  Date: 11/15/2023

  1 star

  Allison L

  Date: 11/15/2023

  I have been trying since Oct 10th to get my beneficiary packet for my deceased fathers annuities. I have called everyday since beginning of last week and they are having a system outage for over a week? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. They took my information and would have a supervisor reach out to me. That hasn't happened. Is this going to be the same when it is time to dispurse the funds. I really need an answer.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 11/28/2023

  November 27, 2023 *********************** **** Bus Stop Ln ********, ** 39652-3701 RE: BBB Customer Review ID: ****** **** SR: ************************************ ********************** NAIC # ***** Dear ***********************:This letter is in response to the customer review you filed on November 15, with the Better Business Bureau of ********* and received by ****. on November 16. We acknowledge the receipt of the complaint and the requirements needed for our response.On November 14, the **** service center received your call requesting a beneficiary package be mailed to you. We understand timely administration of **** policies and client access to information is important to maintain the clients financial trust and we apologize for the delay. A **** vendor that provides policy administration services is currently experiencing an operational outage due to taking its systems offline in response to a cybersecurity event. The outage has created delays in service requests and transactions, including **** surrender processing. We are collaborating with the vendor to resolve this issue as quickly as possible to resume operations. Once our systems are back up, the beneficiary package will be mailed.Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call toll-free, ************, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET), to speak to a customer service representative.Sincerely,**** ************************

• Review fromMelissa M

  Date: 11/04/2023

  1 star

  Melissa M

  Date: 11/04/2023

  I would give this a 0 star rating as I believe TIAA-CREF is holding my money illegally. I invested in TIAA-CREF through my employer's 403(b) plan. I transferred my money to Fidelity and TIAA-CREF will not transfer a portion of it, telling me I have a 7 year annuity "contract" which I never received or agreed to. They cannot prove or provide this "contract" with my signature. On their selection page they do not fully disclose these types of annuities and their holding periods but trick you into thinking they are liquid. TIAA-CREF has been operating like this for a long time, as you can see from the various negative complaints listed on this website, plus other investment review sites, and a NY Times article which outlines their deceptive practices. In this day and age I cannot believe an investment company can get away with operating this way.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 11/15/2023

  We are writing in response to Mrs. *********************** November 4, 2023 Better Business Bureau review of TIAA. We appreciate the opportunity to provide a response.******************* is an investor in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Her employer chose the annuity contracts that fund the plan (with no employee signature required), but ******************* chose the specific investments within those contracts. Specifically, ******************* chose to invest in a long-term investment option, the primary objective of which is to guarantee the principal at a contractually specified interest rate, and this objective is met through a portfolio of long-term investments. The result is having an illiquid portfolio balance with an eye towards long-term returns and a regular longterm payout schedule. It also offers the opportunity for higher returns through additional amounts, which may be declared* on a year-by-year basis.All liquidity restrictions were fully disclosed to *********************Additional Amounts may be declared on a year-by-year basis by the ********** of *************************************************************** Customer Resolution Manager

• Review fromJamilla L

  Date: 10/26/2023

  1 star

  Jamilla L

  Date: 10/26/2023

  Absolutely the worst website to deal with in terms of trying to get your money out. Did a request online that was only saved never done and then go back to check two days later to find out that it was just saved. Request was never processed and now take ahead on how much you can take out because the market dropped in two days. Do not use this company. Warn you do not use.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 11/09/2023

  To Whom It May ********* am writing on behalf of ****************** and ******************* of America (TIAA) in response to the correspondence received on October 29 regarding the customer review from ******************************* relating to her October 24 attempted online cash withdrawal.Upon review, our Information Technology (IT) team confirmed **************** did not complete the online withdrawal process on October 24. The client attempted the process a couple of times, almost completed the steps, but while in the submit stage she went idle, or the session was timed out. The system automatically saved the withdrawal request for the client to return and complete at her convenience.Please see the final screenshots captured based on the clients October 24 online session:**************** contacted the **************************** on October 26 to inquire on the status of her withdrawal that she believed was initiated online. The representative informed her multiple times the request was only saved and was not submitted for processing. The representative cancelled the saved request and submitted a new cash withdrawal request. Unfortunately, the transaction submitted by the representative failed to process. Our IT team reviewed this transaction and determined there was a combination of a system and user error that caused the request to fail.**************** went online October 31 and successfully initiated the cash withdrawal process. The request completed over night and the payment was sent via direct deposit to her checking account on file on November 1.We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration the client experienced. The experience does not model the level of care we strive to provide to our participants.For specific questions related to this inquiry, you can contact me directly at ************************** or 704-xxx-xxxx.

• Review fromJames M

  Date: 10/12/2023

  1 star

  James M

  Date: 10/12/2023

  If I could give them a 0 star rating, I would. I had a 403(b) with my previous employer through TIAA-CREF. I was able to take a partial rollover to my current employer's 401(k) but now I am trying to roll my remaining balance over to my current employers 401(k) but TIAA is telling me that I cannot do this. The only way to do this is to take an automatic annual distribution over the next 10 years. I haven't been with my previous employer for nearly 8 years and I was 100% vested when I left the company. **** is telling me that I am under some form of contract that prevents me from accessing over $7000 of MY money. None of this "contract" was explained to me by my previous employer or TIAA at my time of enrollment. Had it been explained to me, I would have never given TIAA my money.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 10/16/2023

  October 16, 2023 Better Business Bureau Consumer: *************************** BBB Case #****** **** SR ************* Dear Better Business Bureau,I am writing in response to the complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) from *************************** concerning accessing his money invested in the **** Traditional Annuity. **** received his complaint on October 13.**** cannot accommodate his request for a lump-sum withdrawal of his **** Traditional Annuity balance for the following reasons:**** Traditional Annuity in a Group Retirement Annuity (GRA) contract The **** Traditional Annuity guarantees your principal and a contractually specified minimum interest rate, while providing the opportunity for additional amounts in excess of the guaranteed rate. To meet the products investment objectives, there are special contract provisions in place that limit access to the funds invested in the **** Traditional Annuity in a Group Retirement Annuity (GRA) contract. This provision is designed to allow the **** General Account, which backs the **** Traditional Annuitys interest and income payout guarantees, to invest in securities with longer durations and higher returns than those that would underlie a fully liquid product, such as a money market fund.Before separation from employment, the fastest method for transferring the **** Traditional Annuity balance to other investment options within the plan is via ten annual payments over a nine-year period through the establishment of a Transfer Payout Annuity (TPA).Subject to the employers plan provisions, a lump-sum withdrawal may be permitted from the **** Traditional Annuity only within 120 days after separation from employment and is subject to a 2.5% surrender charge. Beyond the 120 days, the fastest method for liquidating your **** Traditional Annuity balance is via a 5-Year Fixed-Period Annuity. After separation from employment additional income options, such as lifetime annuity income, income for a fixed period of time, interest-only payments and IRS required minimum distributions, may be available.Liquidity Restriction Disclosures In addition to interactions he has had with **** personnel on this subject, we provide required disclosures of the **** Traditional Annuity liquidity restriction in the following:a. Enrollment Application: By signing the enrollment form, he indicated his agreement to the rules mentioned above about the **** Traditional Annuity.b. Contract Package: Upon enrollment, he received a **** contract and a companion CREF Certificate for each of the accounts.c. Quarterly Statement: The information regarding the **** Traditional Annuity is provided in the Information about your portfolio section of each quarterly statement.If the client would like copies of these documents, he may contact me directly. **** will not provide copies with this response as these items contain Personal Identifying Information. If he would like to begin the 5-Year Fixed-Period Annuity, then he can contact the *********************** at ************. Consultants are available weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (ET).In closing, while we regret that we are unable to accommodate his request, we hope he can understand that all participants invested in the **** Traditional Annuity in a GRA contract are contractually bound by the same terms.For specific questions related to this inquiry you can contact me directly at ************************** on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (CT).Sincerely,************************* Senior Customer Resolution Manager

• Review fromHoward A

  Date: 09/26/2023

  1 star

  Howard A

  Date: 09/26/2023

  Zero stars if you ever want to get your money out. Nothing is possible on line. Everything is done by paper forms sent by snail mail. Ive spoken to at least half a dozen agents at the telephone call in help desk and they all give me different answers to my questions. Impossible to meet face to face with a living person. They are so far behind the times compared to other annuity and brokerage companies. Their website is a total disaster- hard to navigate, confusing, and very few a functions can actually be initiated on line other than requesting that a paper form by snail mailed to you. Basically, its pretty easy to put your money in, but totally frustrating trying to get it out. Avoid doing business with them like the plague!

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 10/11/2023

  October 9, 2023 Better Business Bureau ********************************************************************** RE: File No.: ****** Policy *: *****289 and *****928 Annuitant: ************************* **** SR * 1-25540824766 To Whom it May ************ letter is in response to the review filed by *********************** with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which was received by ****************** and ******************* of America (****) (NAIC Code ******). We acknowledge the receipt of the complaint and the requirements needed for our response.Please see the below timeline detailing the interactions ************** had with our After-*********************** 9/15/23- ************** called the **** service center to discuss the annuitization process on policy *****289. At this time the **** call center representative incorrectly advised ************** on the policy options. After this was discovered, **** provided the representative with coaching on the product details to avoid this from happening again. 9/26/23- ************** called the **** service center again and was provided with the correct annuitization information. The annuitization forms were emailed to ************** on this date. 10/2/23- A manager from the **** service center called ************** to confirm that all of his questions were answered, and that he received the requested forms to begin receiving annuity payments. During this call ************** expressed his frustration regarding the inability to complete these transactions online, and we apologized for the incorrect information he received previously. 10/4/23- The annuitization forms were received and reviewed for policy *****289. The annuitization has been approved to be processed on November 1, as all annuitization processing is on the first of the following month the forms are approved.We emailed annuitization forms for policy *****928 to ************** on September 27. To date, the completed forms have not been received. Once they are received, the forms will be reviewed for processing.Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call toll-free, ************, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET), to speak to a customer service representative.*********,**** ************************

• Review fromAndrew C

  Date: 08/29/2023

  1 star

  Andrew C

  Date: 08/29/2023

  Absolutely terrible website. **************** is very good when you get the right people, terrible when you get the wrong ones. **** has been in decline for a long time and seems to be on a glidepath toward absolute zero. They used to be a great company, but that is not true anymore. It is very sad.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 09/14/2023

  This letter is in response to the customer review filed with the ********************************************* on August 29 by ************************* where he provided feedback on the **** website and ****s customer service. The ******************** customer review was received at **** on August 30.The feedback provided by **************** has been documented and forwarded to the appropriate department for review and will be used to help us improve our service standards going forward. We remain committed to meeting service expectations and hope that Mr. ******* future experiences with us will reflect our service commitment.If you have additional questions pertaining to this request, you may contact me directly at **************** or by calling xxx-xxx-xxxx weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET).

• Review fromBrandy E

  Date: 08/25/2023

  1 star

  Brandy E

  Date: 08/25/2023

  TIAA WHAT A JOKE!! Do not trust them with your money. Money goes in but you cant get it out. The representatives have told me many excuses first was they are waiting on approval from the institution that is depositing the investment 30 days is what they have for approval time. Then after 6 weeks I call back and ask where my money is they say we are very sorry your account had a hold on that let me remove the hold youll have your money in 2 days after 2days and no funds I call back man we need you to verify your address please upload your documents through the website. Mind you there is a place in your TIAA Account for tasks messages etc which I have none. So I grab my documents go to upload them and the website is down. So I call back they then proceed to tell me I have to wait for the website or fax I dont have access to fax. Oh by the way did the last operator tell you to write a letter to approve the address verification??? These people are a joke wish me luck I get my funds. And remember youve been warned money goes in good luck getting it out.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 09/14/2023

  I am writing on behalf of ****************** and ******************* of America (TIAA) in response to the correspondence received on September 5, 2023, regarding the customer service provided relating to a delayed cash distribution request from **********************************Upon review, the root cause of the restrictive holds placed on the participants accounts was related to the ************************ issued in December 2022. The *** PATRIOT Act, along with other regulations designed to protect participants from identity theft, requires that TIAA validate the identity of new account holders. Two letters were mailed to her address on file, one in December 2022 and one in January 2023, explaining TIAA needed her to provide documentation that verified her residential address. Since no response was received, we place restrictive holds on the accounts to prevent any transaction until we were able to obtain the required verification details.When the participant provided the uploaded copy of her drivers license on August 25, the documents were not routed to the correct department for the proper processing. Therefore, the holds were not removed which continued to delay the cash distribution requests initiated on July 6. On September 5, the supporting documentation provided was directed to the appropriate area and the holds were removed. On September 6, the withdrawal requests were processed. I spoke with ********************, on September 7, and confirmed that TIAA distributed the funds to her bank account on file via direct deposit.If you have additional questions, please contact us at ************. Consultants are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET).

• Review fromRichard F

  Date: 08/14/2023

  1 star

  Richard F

  Date: 08/14/2023

  We tried to transfer my wife's *** to Fidelity. They required a notarized affidavit from me which I scanned and emailed. They didn't seem to get it and asked for another. I repeated the process and still we weren't able to close the account.**** has the affidavit in their system now but we stopped trying out of frustration.A week ago my wife phoned them to request a RMD. She just git an email which indicated forms needed to be completed.Company needs to be liquidated.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 08/29/2023

  I am writing in response to the August 14 review that you filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which was received by TIAA on August 16. In your comments you mentioned complications experienced attempting to move funds out of your wifes retirement account at TIAA.I sent you an email on August 21 attempting to assist with your wifes account, but never heard back from you. Since we have been unable to locate the account, if you and your spouse are still looking for assistance with her account, please feel free to reach out to me directly at ******************* or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

• Review fromDonna P

  Date: 08/04/2023

  1 star

  Donna P

  Date: 08/04/2023

  If I could move my retirement funds out of TIAA today I would. Rarely a straight answer. Jumping through countless hoops to access my own retirement funds. I don't know what has happened to them but it isn't good.I used the web site regularly and for the first time was prohibited from making a withdrawal from one of my funds. I called to see when the change had taken place and got such a load of condescending BS I was appalled. I no longer have trust in this company at all.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 08/17/2023

  Better Business Bureau BBB Customer Review ID ******* ******************** RE: SR * 1-25488575399 Dear BBB Associate:I am writing on behalf of ****************** and ******************* of America (TIAA) in response to the correspondence received on July 5, 2023, regarding a complaint filed by *********************************** about her experience trying to access her retirement funds via the TIAA.org secure website.While we regret the frustration the client experienced, the type of request ************************ was trying to initiate is not available via the website. She has been successful in the past with initiating simple cash withdrawals, but her latest request requires signed paperwork that she could not generate online.Upon review of her recent phone call into the *********************** on August 4, ************************ was properly and professionally educated by the representative on the steps required to achieve her request, along with an explanation as to why she could not manage the request online like she had in the past for cash withdrawals. The required Transfer Payout Annuity (TPA) forms were generated and mailed to her address on file, as requested. No additional action has been taken by the client at this time.If you have additional questions, please contact us at ************. Consultants are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET).Sincerely,******************************* Senior Customer Resolution Manager

• Review fromThien N

  Date: 07/10/2023

  1 star

  Thien N

  Date: 07/10/2023

  They are the worst company that I have to deal with. It took for one month to just convert from *** to *************** within TIAA company with many mistakes. Now I want to close the accounts and move to other investment company and they lied and cheated on my account... sometimes I feel like they hired bunch elementary school to run the bank... they cancel the request with no explaining, no email and before the request been submitted I went through line by line with TIAA representative... so seem like left hand don't know what is the right hand doing.

  TIAA-CREF

  Date: 07/21/2023

  Dear Better Business Bureau:We are responding to the July 11 Better Business Bureau ******** Review from *********** regarding the difficulties a TIAA client has experienced with their account transaction requests.First, protecting the privacy and security of our clients information is important to us. This includes implementing policies and procedures that help to mitigate risks. We aim to provide the best balance of protecting the security of our clients accounts and providing a quality client experience based on industry norms. We continually review our processes to improve security and efficiency.Since ******** is not authorized to access our clients account(s), we are unable to discuss account-specific information with him without the requisite authorization. We regret any inconvenience this has caused *********Finally, the rules governing retirement plan transactions are complex, in part, because they are designed to protect clients. We encourage our client to speak with a licensed TIAA Financial Consultant to discuss their individual planning needs. For account service needs, our client may contact their Advisory Team that includes our dedicated team of ******************* Services Consultants at ************. Consultants are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET). Additional TIAA information is located on our website at TIAA.org Sincerely,************************* Senior ******** Resolution Manager Operations and ******** Services TIAA