How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

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Timoneer
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How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by Timoneer »

I have recently made the transition from someone who pays into TIAA-CREF to someone who wishes to withdraw retirement funds, and it has not been a happy experience. With every transaction, TC drags its feet, insisting upon snail-mailing forms, rather than email or downloading. They delay for days or weeks in acting upon these forms, and sometimes screw up with sending the wrong forms, setting the process back to square one. A relatively simple internal conversion of an IRA took more than 3 weeks; with Fidelity the same type of transaction took 3 days.

The last straw has been my attempt to transfer funds from a TC IRA to another institution. Initial delays again in sending the proper forms, but it has progressed to the point that TC has taken the money out of my account. However, it has not shown up at the receiving institution, and my phone calls to TC boil down to 'the check is in the mail.' I am dismayed that they do not use electronic transfer, nor do they bother to even pay a few cents for tracking or receipt confirmation of the mailed check. All that customer service can offer me is the advice that I give it another week or so, and if it doesn't turn up they will void the check and send out another by snail mail.

It may not be a big deal to TC, but it is to me. It is a significant chunk of my retirement portfolio and I am not comfortable that it is floating around in limbo without accountability. I am inclined to transfer out all of my TC holdings that are not subject to the 9 year withdrawal rules, but I am willing to give them a chance to explain and convince me that my experience was an anomaly, and not an institutional problem.

Has anyone had a good experience with TC customer service, a sincere effort to correct rather than simply say 'we are sorry, but cannot help you'? Is there some secret phone number other than the standard customer service 800# that will get me someone with the ability and desire to correct problems?
And have other forum members had similar experiences with TC?
sscritic
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by sscritic »

I would suggest you ask your question at the morningstar T/C forum. Some of them read here, but not all.

http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSoc ... 00044.aspx

I had some dealings with fixing things at T/C back in the days before the tubes, so I expected things to be handled by letters in envelopes with stamps on them. In the end, it all worked out, but it did take a while.
MathWizard
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by MathWizard »

I use the secure messages portion of the website (under contact us) rather than phone.
You don't get an immediate response, but you typically get a well formed response.

This is one reason I keep 3 month of expenses in my local credit union. I can walk in and
close my account in minutes M-F 9-5, and my money will never be in limbo.

It sounds like you are transferring away to another company at least with your IRA,
maybe you'll get the service you want there.
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Timoneer
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by Timoneer »

sscritic wrote:I would suggest you ask your question at the morningstar T/C forum. Some of them read here, but not all.

http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSoc ... 00044.aspx
Thank you for the suggestion, but registration for the Morningstar forum is proving to be as daunting as dealing with T/C. Why does an on-line forum need my mailing address and home phone number (rhetorical - I can guess why they Want this info, based upon the flurry of advertising screens imploring me to sign up for different products). Having passed these hurdles, the forum refuses all of my attempts to create a discussion username.

Sigh. It is turning into one of those days.
livesoft
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by livesoft »

I have had a 403(b) with TIAA-CREF since the mid-1980s. I've never seen them do anything fast. So I just go with the flow. For example, my last interaction with them was to start the transfer payout annuity. I knew it took 9 years to finish, so I started it about 12 years before I needed it. So far, so good.

In essence, what's wrong with waiting a few weeks for your money? Maybe you will avoid a downdraft that way? My standard advice in this situation is: Relax. Go on vacation. Enjoy life.
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House Blend
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by House Blend »

Some feedback about my own experiences with T-C...

I've had less than stellar experiences with T-C customer service in recent years, and good experiences too. Not enough bad ones to make me want to exit completely, but I don't have any choice while still contributing through my employer's plan.

I'm patient, but can admit I was surprised that it took two weeks for a rollover of an old 403b at T-C to an existing IRA at T-C. (I wonder if they mailed a paper check to themselves.)
I am dismayed that they do not use electronic transfer, nor do they bother to even pay a few cents for tracking or receipt confirmation of the mailed check.
For better or worse, I think that is the industry standard for trustee-to-trustee transfers of IRAs. Mailing paper checks. You should be grateful that they don't insist on mailing a paper check to you. (Or maybe you would prefer that?) In-Kind Transfers are better, but that would require the ability to hold the same fund at both institutions. Ain't gonna happen if you're holding CREF Stock.
With every transaction, TC drags its feet, insisting upon snail-mailing forms, rather than email or downloading.
I've done quite a few rollovers and IRA transfers from T-C to VG within the past 3 years, and this doesn't jive with my experience. First, most of the forms you are likely to need are available online. Even so, my experience has been that the CSRs were eager to pre-fill in some of the data (contract numbers, etc) for me and forward a pdf electronically to my T-C account. Also, I found out that T-C has a FAX number where you can send your completed forms, rather than having to mail them. (Can't use this for Transfer Payout Annuities, and I would suggest not using this number without first confirming with a CSR that it is ok to do so.) These transfers I've done all took about one week.

Calling customer service has been a crapshoot; the gaps in the knowledge level of the front line can be wide. Never was this clearer to me than when I set up a Transfer Payout Annuity from an old 403b to my IRA at Vanguard. It took three phone calls to three different CSRs before I finally found one competent enough to send me the correct set of forms.

Also, if you have over $500K at T-C, you qualify for a "Wealth Management Advisor". From what I've heard, these people are a step up in competence compared to front line phone support. I'm qualified, but not looking for investment advice, which seems to be their primary function. I'm also put off by the fact that they are "Wealth Retention Advisors" -- their compensation is tied to retaining/consolidating assets at T-C. But the next time I am unable to get satisfactory action from T-C, I'll at least reconsider enlisting a WMA to grease the wheels.
The Wizard
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by The Wizard »

I'm over at the M* T-C forum as well, but I'll answer here.
I think MOST active T-C participants have a particular named individual (or two). This is certainly true for those of us who have been there a long time and have significant $$$ there; we get a Wealth Management Advisor (WMA).
But it sounds like the OP is already mostly into his transaction, not looking for advice on how to proceed.
When I've done transfers in the past, I go to my new company (Vanguard) and let them "pull" the $$$ from the IRA in the other institution. I had no problem doing those transfers but they did take a week or more to complete.

Best approach at present might be to talk to folks at the employer who you last had that used T-C for retirement savings. They may be able to put you in touch with a named individual at T-C who can run interference for you...
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Timoneer
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Re: How to get Customer Service from TIAA-CREF?

Post by Timoneer »

Thanks to all for your responses. I would be appreciative if someone who does have access to the Morningstar forum could submit my original post on my behalf.
The Wizard wrote:When I've done transfers in the past, I go to my new company (Vanguard) and let them "pull" the $$$ from the IRA in the other institution. I had no problem doing those transfers but they did take a week or more to complete.
That is just how I initiated the transfer, in this case to Fidelity. I gave the Fidelity rep all of the pertinent information, but he ran into a roadblock with T-C, who would only talk directly to me. Fair enough, but the Fidelity rep did not simply bounce it back to me. Instead, he immediately got me on a conference call with T-C, letting me make the request and supplying Fidelity related info where required. That is my idea of good customer service.

I do have a WMA, but his help has been less than stellar. He is a pleasant fellow, but previously messed up an internal T-C transfer in two ways. Several requests for detailed information have gone unanswered. Sometimes he 'forwards' the request to the North Carolina office, which responds with an incomplete answer. Other times he just totally forgets. He is hard to reach, always seeming to be in meetings or on the road. The quickest response I ever had was unsolicited; when I initiated the transfer described above, he was phoning me within the hour wanting to know how T-C could retain my IRA.
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