TIAA Reviews 

I am the executor of my friend’s estate and had a bad feeling contacting them after a letter I received. Spoke with a woman today to get the process started. Just emailed the death certificate. All other entities I am dealing with are accepting the copies of the will. TIAA wants letters testament from Probate court stating my executorship. Something doesn’t feel right, especially reading all of the reviews. Will report back.

Tiaa Cref has got to be a contender for the worst financial service outfit. I started an account for my daughter 30+ years ago when she was a minor and I was new to investing.The fund performance has been terrible. A mere fraction of what it should be. Couple that with the terrible phone tree and lack of service. My daughter now 40 tried to roll into Vanguard. She was unable to because she is listed as a minor. I called. After a painful journey through the phone tree I reached a human, I went through all the security hoo ha. Old telephone numbers and addresses etc Stuff no one else would know and I bearly remember. Then apparently lacking 1 bit of info , there is always 1 more bit they need, I was told I am unable to access the account. So the 40 year old minor can't move her money and I don't have access. I then tried general nonspecific to the account questions on how the system works. The human was unable to grasp the concept. Kept saying I didn't have access. Finally blew my top and got scolded for swearing. Meanwhile, they still have our money. Still fighting for access. This has been going on for a couple of of years. The phone calls are so frustrating that my daughter gave up. I give up for a while then try again. STAY AWAY FROM TIAA CREF investments.

So, I've been with TIAA for about 10 years now, using their retirement and lifetime annuity products, and honestly, it’s been solid. They offer free advice, and in that time, my portfolio has more than doubled. That’s without any crazy fees or extra hoops to jump through. It’s kind of impressive considering how low-maintenance it all felt.

One of the best parts? They keep things pretty straightforward. I didn’t have to dig through complicated jargon or feel like I needed a finance degree just to make smart moves with my money. Their team was always clear about the pros and cons of different options, which gave me confidence in the choices I was making.

On the flip side, the returns aren’t always as aggressive as some riskier products out there, so if you're into high-stakes growth, you might find it a bit slow. But if you’re more about steady, reliable growth (like me), then TIAA’s advice and products are a solid choice.

Compared to other places I’ve looked at, TIAA feels way more personalized. You actually get real advice without having to pay for it, which is a rare find these days.

I have been trying to start my annuity payments for MONTHS. My paperwork just sits there, they don’t follow through, I have been promised repeatedly that my payouts will start.

I did make an error early on, not understanding that I had to call TIAA after I had verified my bank account. When that was clarified, I received, completed, and submitted the additional verification paperwork required that same day. (7/08/24.) I was assured that upon submission of this paperwork that everything would move forward quickly, and I would then begin receiving my annuity as of August 1, 2024.
Three weeks later I called to check on the status as it did not appear in my online account that anything had occurred. I was told at that time that “there had been a computer error“ and none of my paperwork had been forwarded for processing.

From trying to initiate the process until today, I have called EIGHTEEN TIMES. I have spoken with SEVENTEEN different “specialists.” I have not been able to speak to a supervisor. For purposes of this review, I have had to select a date of the experience, but this has been going on since May, 2024.

I have been living out of my savings and having to take from other investments while waiting for this. That’s doable for the short term, but not at all how I envisioned my retirement. As of today, I was told it will now be NEXT month that my annuity will start. I have no reason to trust them.

I must say, however, that the financial analyst with whom I worked over the past year has ALWAYS been helpful, responsive, and true to their word. In fact, I finally contacted them out of frustration, and with their intervention - and actually doing someone else’s job in an entirely different area of responsibility- was able to move one document forward that had been sitting with TIAA for 48 days.

What can we do as a collective group to draw attention to this pattern?

If your employer gives you a choice of investing with TIAA or something else, choose SOMETHING ELSE. The pattern of mistakes—75% of the transactions I have attempted—can only be read as intentional fraud.

I've had my money with them for 35 years. They have found a way to FAIL TO DELIVER my own money to them almost every time. A wire transfer that didn't go through; a cheque that never arrived; a cheque with the wrong address; a transaction cancelled by mistake; agents who for mysterious reasons can't see my account "right now."

They are now as shady as a health insurance company. Tomorrow I shall look into closing my account.

TIAA lost 13 thousand dollars of my money and can't explain where it went!!!! Criminal!

This is an abusive organisation, one designed to hold onto your savings. In 1989, when I was 28, I signed an agreement with TIAA for them to invest my pension funds. Little did I understand the fine print that the investment was not "liquid" and that it would take time to pay it out. I received no statements to my mail or email over the next 35 years. When, at age 74, I wrote to take out my savings, they advised they would provide about 30% now, and would pay out the rest over nine annual installments. I was given no warning about this, no updates, nothing. The person I spoke too was very sympathetic; obviously, he had heard others going through the same misery. When I wrote to complain, the answer back was predictably lawyerly: you signed a contract in 1989, so it's tough on you.

Of course one doesn't follow these things; that is what TIAA banks on. And now, I will not have all my funds until I am in my mid 80s, if I make it that long. Merciless, greedy, disgusting. This is one place to avoid like the plague.

As others have said, TIAA makes it impossible to get my own money from them and invest it with a reputable company. Isn't that called theft? Fraud? I have spent endless hours on the phone, completed reams of paperwork only to be jerked around and given different information every time I talk to someone. They have cancelled my transactions repeatedly with no explanation or remedy. I am livid and have now filed a complaint with the SEC. Even their website is impossible to navigate or use. This company should be shut down.

I had several thousand dollars transferred from a retirement company to TIAA in July 2024. When calling to check on the rollover money, 10 days after the check was mailed, I was told two times that the check had not arrived yet. When I contacted the other retirement company they told me the check had been cashed and cleared indicating that TIAA deposited my money. The money was not in my account and I had to notify TIAA that they had deposited my money and it was missing. It is has now been over three weeks since I started this process and I have called them every day since the discovery of the missing money and all I am being told is that they don't know where the money is and don't know when it will be deposited into my account. They have been extremely unhelpful and the manager I spoke to even tried to blame the other retirement company for TIAA's error. I am in the process of moving all of my money out of TIAA because I do not trust them and for the horrendous way they have handled this problem.
Update: My money was located and deposited into my account 8 days after I notified TIAA that my money was missing. When I moved the money to another institution they did not put the correct name on the check so it could not be deposited. I had to notify TIAA of the error and they had to stop payment and issue a new check. This process can take up to 15 business days. This could end up being a two month process and hours of phone calls for a simple rollover. I have moved all my money from TIAA and will no longer be a customer of theirs.

My sister had made me beneficiary of her account. I have verification of this in her own handwriting. Also, when I went to file her taxes, I needed to go online to print her tax documents. I am the trustee of her trust and she had left me her username and password. While I was online, I clicked on beneficiaries and my name was there. This money was going to be left to me for becoming the legal guardian of her 40 year old autistic son. Now they are adamant that I am not the beneficiary. They have been in contact with her daughter who disowned her back in 2010. The form has to be signed by the administrator of the trust or executor of the estate, who is me. I will not be signing. I am working with an attorney to get this straightened out

I am an attorney. I speak with some knowledge and perspective for having dealt with financial institutions for decades.
The trustpilot rating of 1.5 for TIAA is too high. It should be closer to zero.
In trying to obtain my mother's TIAA benefits after her death, I found various TIAA personnel to be insulting and/or rude. I found other representatives to be incompetent. TIAA screwed up the beneficiary in my mother's trust, concluding (without any basis whatsoever) that there were two trust beneficiaries, not one. TIAA found a way to withhold her account for months when they could have released it in several weeks. Moreover, TIAA repeatedly sent reams of paper and brochures over and over again, as if they didn't know or care about they waste and confusion they caused by what had been sent already. If that isn't enough, I received this morning (7/24/2024) a notice that TIAA will no longer communicate by USPS mail, only via its website. Good luck with that, if you're a senior without good computer skills. Most banks and financial institutions give you a choice of mail vs. online. Not TIAA.
One other note: if you have a CREF (bonds) account, TIAA will not release it all to you or roll over to your IRA your own money at your request in a one-time distribution. Instead, TIAA will insist on spreading your distribution out over nine years. This is an outrage.
BOTTOM LINE: TIAA does not work for the benefit of teachers and other university staff. It works for its own benefit. If you have any choice in the matter, do not choose TIAA. If you have TIAA, get out of it.

The support person helping me with my paperwork when my sister passed away was very rude so I decided to listen to my sisters financial advisor. I filled out the paperwork incorrectly and tried to correct it but TIAA sent me a check. I did not cash it and asked if we can process the paperwork correctly. They said NO now I have to pay a HUGE tax on money that my sister left for me to take care of myself in my old age. When someone is grieving you think they would be flexible. NOT A GOOD COMPANY. I WOULD NOT USE TIAA.

OK the truth. It used to be customer service was excellent but now all calls go to a country where the primary language is not English or if it is the dialect is not easy to understand. You go around in circles, you express frustration with no insults and they either hang up or transfer to another person and you go through the verification process again with repeats from previous call.

What a nightmare! They have had several thousand dollars of mine sitting in an account for almost a decade without me wasting their precious time. However, I needed to contact them today to do something as simple as change a phone number. After two hours, due to “Keshawn,” who refused to validate my account, I am beyond frustrated. After the third call, I finally heard back from a supervisor, “Tameka Callendar,” who claimed she was calling me after her rep said there was “cursing,” I will be terminating the relationship. She should have listened to the call before making false accusations. When I first requested a supervisor, “Keshawn” actually informed me that I would not be “allowed” to file a complaint against her because she had “done nothing wrong”. What??? It is my right as a customer to express my concerns if I choose to do so. Also, please check on the definition of cursing. This is the worst customer service of my life.

This is the worst place to trust with your pension. I have waited a month to withdraw from my funds, but I'm being met with rejection every damn time I made an attempt. It is really sad that I had to go through all these hassles to get paid. I've never had to wait this long to get paid with echelonis elitus. They're the only syndicate that always deliver on payment.

I have been with TIAA for over 20 years. Customer service used to be excellent. Recently, it has been phone calls that have not been helpful. Looking to move my portfolio to another company.

Looks like I've joined the long list of people having difficulty prying THEIR OWN MONEY out of TIAA's hands. They must sit around 24/7 perfecting ways to delay the disbursement of your funds. Unconscionable business practices.

As others have reported, it is VERY difficult to get the money. I have literally spent DAYS trying to get the flow started. Their system fails, it makes you start over, and nobody wants to help. It was a SHOCK to be told it can ONLY be paid in an annuity!!! All my life I have avoided annuities, because they are SUCH a rip off! And somehow, my hard earned money is tied up there, meaning I will not get a full payout until I am 78 years old!! THIEVES and INCOMPETENT !@#!$

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. This is a warning to anybody with their 401K with TIAA or a loved one with a retirement fund with TIAA. My father was an Academic Dean with Oxford of Emory University in Georgia. His 401K retirement fund was with TIAA. He had around a million dollars in his fund at his retirement- closer to 750K at the time of his passing. He has 3 kids, me and two older sisters. We were all equal beneficiaries for the life of the policy. One of my sisters suffers from severe mental illness and she had a boyfriend who's name is Kevin Hudanish- a garden variety con-man. They lived with my father and were "caretakers"- and because he was so trusting, they withdrew money for him and took care of paying his bills for him, ....etc.

About a year before my father's passing, he had become a heavy drinker and was starting to get seriously ill. Around the same time, Myself and my oldest sister's name were taken off my father's policy as beneficiaries- leaving only my mentally ill sister as the sole beneficiary. Six months later, Kevin added himself as the second beneficiary- splitting the fund 50/50 between them. My point and warning to all is that this change all happened from home on my father's computer. He didn't even know how to log into his own email. Changing the beneficiaries on his 401K with TIAA was as simple as adding or subtracting someone from your Netflix account. Yes, it was that easy. Now how many people with enough finances to have a substantial 401K have caretakers around them and depend on them for many different things.

Once it all happened, it was already too late. No lawyer wanted to help me as there was no medical proof of my father was not being of sound mind at the time of changing, and there was no proof that he himself didn't do it. I want to draw attention to this major security gap in TIAA's retirement funds... this can happen to ANYBODY. Kevin has since left my mentally ill sister and ran off with his "new girlfriend." He only did this after my father's house sold and he got the money for that too. That is a separate issue, as the house was left to them as a thank you for taking care of my mother for her last years. However, the 401K was always meant to be split up between the three kids- my dad had many conversations with me regarding it. In the end though, he had no control over his own retirement fund. It would have changed my life.... instead, it just became a nightmare.

I urge anyone with a retirement fund with TIAA to consider moving their money to somewhere else, or at least locking up the account in some ironclad way- cause what person with money doesn't have someone caretaking them at the end of their life. These people often feel entitled because they are there at the end while some other kids might be off living their life (like my father wanted me doing).

I've wanted to sue TIAA over their weak security which allowed this tragedy to happen, but so far, I've had no luck finding a lawyer with the gumption to do it. So, just know, TIAA's beneficiary security is on the same level with a Netflix account. Act accordingly with your money

I just turned 73 yrs old and needed advise about taking my money out of TIAA/CREF. I was told there were no appointments available in the State of Virginia. When I asked for a telephone appointment, I was told that the next available telephone appointment was 2 months away. This company has had my money for decades. I have never asked for help before. Now that I need advise there is none. SHAME ON YOU! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.