TIAAReviews of tiaa.org

I had 300k in a fund and using their site, set up a trade into a 3 separate brokerage account funds in the amounts of 33%, 33%, and 34% of the 300K. The web app showed the correct amounts of 100K each to be bought. When the transaction processed, it did the first 33% at 100K as is should have, but when it tried to do the second, instead of moving 100K, it recalculated using the 200K balance and only moved 66K, then the third transaction recalculated again, moving only 45K. After 3 hours on the phone, they finally admitted it was a bug in their web app. I cannot believe a firm this large could have an IT issue like this. So they offered a way to correct it which was moving all the cash to a money market first (1-3 business days), then do the transaction (another 1-3 business days). So we moved the cash. The next day, the move was complete, and on the brokerage side it said I had 100K to trade. When I went to do the trade on a different screen, it showed the 100K as unsettled cash. WTF????? When I called, the brokerage rep said I had 100K. When I pointed out the discrepancy, he was clueless and said since it hadn't settled I had nothing to work with. He had NO CLUE. TIAA SUCKS, their website SUCKS, their customer service SUCKS. They must be lining educational institution pockets to use their services because no decent corporation is using their garbage services. Can't wait to retire and move it all to fidelity.

Received ( several days ago ) an apparent scam email stating that it was a “Profile Change Confirmation” which I never did. Suspicious as I was I went on to scrutinize the email page and it was absolutely credible in format and features with TIAA’s. However at the bottom the corporate information read TIAA Bank, 11 Oval Drive, Islandia, NY which after a Google Earth flight reveals a warehouse, empty parking lots, trucks and a dumping site. Watch out! I was supposed to call a certain number if I had not made any profile changes on my TIAA retirement account. I immediately wrote to to report but received no response to date. We retirees deserve a lot more and prompt response or action. Disappointing!

They make it so difficult to transfer funds to another institution. Arcane rules that tie you up with rounds of forms.

As far as I'm concerned, TIAA locks you into old-fangled products with sub-optimal returns and a potential to go bankrupt. They seem to do this to protect dinosaur employees who run these products. They make an annuity sound GREAT. They write papers about this all the time. But they don't tell you that an insurance plan can go underfunded over the many years that it is run. And they don't tell you that an annuity locks you into potentially sub-optimal investments that don't keep up with the times.

Just learned that TIAA.org leaked my social security number and other personal information. This is supposed to be my trusted retirement account, but instead they're putting all my banking info on the dark web for people to scam and rip me off.

I had 60 days after leaving my employer to elect a distribution method, with the default for non-election a lump sum. I called within 60 days but they wouldn't take my election because they said according to their records, I was still employed, but said they would correct this right away. Despite multiple calls, it was not corrected until 4 months later and they forced me to take the lump sum distribution (which had serious negative tax and Medicare premium consequences as it doubled my apparent income). I engaged my former employer's HR/lawyers on the matter. TIAA LIED AND TOLD MY EMPLOYER THAT I HAD NEVER CALLED THEM until I produced two call logs from Xfinity and TIAA themselves that proved that they were lying. Ultimately, we forced TIAA to reverse the lump sum so I could elect a 5 year distribution (but not until the lump sum distribution was made and I had to pay the increased taxes). I had to send them a check for the total amount, including additional funds because I had already paid taxes on the total amount. First, they did nothing, until I complained. Then they deposited only about ONE THIRD OF MY CHECK in my account. (until I complained) Then they deposited TWICE THE AMOUNT OF MY CHECK in my account (until I pointed out the error). Then they made the correct deposit and distributions for 2023 and 2024 as agreed and all that was left to do was to issue a new W2 so I could get my tax refund and Medicare premiums lowered. Instead, they issued a W2 that showed TWICE THE AMOUNT OF INCOME that I actually had received! They refused to fix the error until I threatened them with legal action. Then they issued a W2 with the correct income, but without listing the taxes that had already been withheld. My accountant said that the IRS would expect me to PAY THESE TAXES AGAIN. It is now only a matter of copying and pasting uncontested amounts from one box to another of my W2 and even after my accountant called them, THEY ARE STILL REFUSING TO FIX THEIR ERROR! I can't file my amended tax return and get my refund. I have another employer related account with TIAA. I wanted to roll it over to another company so that I would not have to contend with these morons. THREE SEPARATE REPRESENTATIVES told me that I could do this and one actually filled out the online paperwork for me. Then the company refused to do the rollover, saying it was against the law. I wrote a letter to the CEO. In response, they have connected me with 3 different representatives. One's approach was to just be a brick wall and "just say no". I ditched her and they gave me someone who was essentially a human shield. Finally, I have someone who seems to be trying to do the right thing, but she is relatively powerless against the people who actually make things happen. This company makes repeated mistakes, and actively fights against correcting them, even when presented with overwhelming evidence. Do not let them near your retirement money. I am submitting this review to TIAA. I would not be surprised if they again deny responsibility and perhaps try to smear me in the process.

Absolutely unreliable. Last year they lost $40000 of my money. This year they keep sending my annuity check to the wrong account. Now just today $3000-4000 is missing. Good luck getting anyone's attention. I have given them way too many chances and the only sensible thing for me to do is to get my money out of this retirement account is to put it with someone else. I gave them my business for 40 years and they were bought out by somebody and I guess that explains the haphazard way they care for my account.

The closest synonym for TIAA is failure. I want to point out that the people you talk to over the phone for your account needs were and I suspect are still a really good collection of people. The rot is at the top. The employees don't like dysfunction anymore than you do. If you only know the thousands of hours customers used to spend resubmitting various forms you would crap your pants. The anguish they have caused is just plain sad. I could write a book on management's missteps. Many are public - like losing their tax-exempt status, buying Nuveen, and their hapless short-lived journey into banking. TIAA doesn't appear to understand that fundamentally they IT is an integral part of their business. If that's your business, why on earth would you outsource a significant part of it? How secure do you think outsourcing overseas is?