TIAAReviews of tiaa.org

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 !@#!$