Tiaa-Cref manages retirement plans. I have a small account with them. Due to serious financial hardship, I sought a method to start receiving funds, as much as possible upfront. I would have prefered that due to my situation I could have simply cashed in the funds, but due to the accounts they were in and the retirement plan agreements, It was explained and I understood that they would not release the entirey of those funds.
So, of course I pursued receiving as much as possible. I spoke to their representative on June 13th by telephone and explained my situation. He offered information on the best method to achieve my goals, and then together we "filled out" a contract which would be sent to me on email to sign.
I had to call back and ask for a hard copy, as my printer could not read the file he sent. When I received the contract in the mail, I spoke with another representative on the telephone who helped make sure everything was in order.
It is important to point out, each of the representatives outlined what I could expect and were acting as employees of Tiaa-CREF.
I sent the signed contract to Tiaa-CREF, they processed it. They sent payment, which was approved by them on June 30th and on July 2nd was deposited in my account.. But what they didn't bother to tell me, is that they had decided to change the terms of the contract and thus over half the funds I was expecting were not paid!
I was told twice in June that I could receive 10% of my funds upfront and then enjoy the remainder paid out according to the plan I chose. On July 1st, I checked their website to see if my request was being processed, and that is when I discovered they had set up payment for only part of the contract.
I called them on July 1st, in the afternoon, immediately upon discovering that not everything was as explained to me, (twice). I was told that due to an, I quote, "an obscure rule", the information I was given was wrong. I was told they probably should have contacted me instead of processing the contract in a different manner than speciified. The 10%, would not be paid.
The representive kept repeating that they might be able to reverse everything to before the contract was requested. And he emphasized over and over that then I would receive no funds. He was pressuring me to take what they had decided to give.
I refused. He said there would be people who would look at the situation. As mentioned, on July 2nd my bank account showed the deposit of some funds, not the amount I expected. I also checked my account on Tiaa-Cref's web page. It showed that on July 1st I had made a service request for review of a contract issue.
Today, I checked the same page, and they had changed the date of my request to June 30th, the same day they completed processing the contract. This, is a lie, and why they changed it I do not know but to say this all happened so "fast"?
I received a call today from the representative that I spoke with on July 1st. He said I would not receive the 10% stipulated in the contract, and proceded againt to try to get me to agree to nulify the whole thing.
How this harmed me. Since June 13th, based on their information, I have made financial decisions expecting funds to become avaiable. I cannot reverse these decisions. I explained that to their representative and mentioned that I think I should seek legal advice. He then started to explain what a large price that would be.
Everything they have done, has been to say, "Sorry, but no we decided you can't have those funds". That includes changing the terms of the contract and processing it anyway, without contacting me.
I no longer trust them with any of my money. And I write this to give warning to others, Tiaa-CREF is interested in keeping your money for as long as they can. They treat it as if it is theirs, that you are begging for it, and they will say and do anything to prevent you from having access to it. Do yourself a favor, call them, pretend you want to withdraw funds and see what they tell you.
Give them any reason, the worse the better. In my case, I am seeking disability which takes a very long time, years. I have been living off funds I could wirthdraw from Tiaa-Cref until I'd reached the barrier of rules that prevented taking more out. I was then willing to have the "retirement' plan kick in, based on what they said would happen, only to learn the have an "obscure rule" preventing the withdrawal.
They were previously informed that I was nearly broke, with no income, and of course will be homeless in a few short months. None of that matters. What interests them is hanging onto my funds as long as they can. One representative even went so far as to suggest I make sure my "beneficiary" information is up to date!
Again, test them, see what they will do for you. And when you discover just how much your money means to them, make the changes in your accounts to make sure you can get that money out if you need it. Because they care more about keeping your money than they do about you.
TIAA–CREF Reviews
Tiaa-Cref manages retirement plans. I have a small account with them. Due to serious financial hardship, I sought a method to start receiving funds, as much as possible upfront. I would have prefered that due to my situation I could have simply cashed in the funds, but due to the accounts they were in and the retirement plan agreements, It was explained and I understood that they would not release the entirey of those funds.
So, of course I pursued receiving as much as possible. I spoke to their representative on June 13th by telephone and explained my situation. He offered information on the best method to achieve my goals, and then together we "filled out" a contract which would be sent to me on email to sign.
I had to call back and ask for a hard copy, as my printer could not read the file he sent. When I received the contract in the mail, I spoke with another representative on the telephone who helped make sure everything was in order.
It is important to point out, each of the representatives outlined what I could expect and were acting as employees of Tiaa-CREF.
I sent the signed contract to Tiaa-CREF, they processed it. They sent payment, which was approved by them on June 30th and on July 2nd was deposited in my account.. But what they didn't bother to tell me, is that they had decided to change the terms of the contract and thus over half the funds I was expecting were not paid!
I was told twice in June that I could receive 10% of my funds upfront and then enjoy the remainder paid out according to the plan I chose. On July 1st, I checked their website to see if my request was being processed, and that is when I discovered they had set up payment for only part of the contract.
I called them on July 1st, in the afternoon, immediately upon discovering that not everything was as explained to me, (twice). I was told that due to an, I quote, "an obscure rule", the information I was given was wrong. I was told they probably should have contacted me instead of processing the contract in a different manner than speciified. The 10%, would not be paid.
The representive kept repeating that they might be able to reverse everything to before the contract was requested. And he emphasized over and over that then I would receive no funds. He was pressuring me to take what they had decided to give.
I refused. He said there would be people who would look at the situation. As mentioned, on July 2nd my bank account showed the deposit of some funds, not the amount I expected. I also checked my account on Tiaa-Cref's web page. It showed that on July 1st I had made a service request for review of a contract issue.
Today, I checked the same page, and they had changed the date of my request to June 30th, the same day they completed processing the contract. This, is a lie, and why they changed it I do not know but to say this all happened so "fast"?
I received a call today from the representative that I spoke with on July 1st. He said I would not receive the 10% stipulated in the contract, and proceded againt to try to get me to agree to nulify the whole thing.
How this harmed me. Since June 13th, based on their information, I have made financial decisions expecting funds to become avaiable. I cannot reverse these decisions. I explained that to their representative and mentioned that I think I should seek legal advice. He then started to explain what a large price that would be.
Everything they have done, has been to say, "Sorry, but no we decided you can't have those funds". That includes changing the terms of the contract and processing it anyway, without contacting me.
I no longer trust them with any of my money. And I write this to give warning to others, Tiaa-CREF is interested in keeping your money for as long as they can. They treat it as if it is theirs, that you are begging for it, and they will say and do anything to prevent you from having access to it. Do yourself a favor, call them, pretend you want to withdraw funds and see what they tell you.
Give them any reason, the worse the better. In my case, I am seeking disability which takes a very long time, years. I have been living off funds I could wirthdraw from Tiaa-Cref until I'd reached the barrier of rules that prevented taking more out. I was then willing to have the "retirement' plan kick in, based on what they said would happen, only to learn the have an "obscure rule" preventing the withdrawal.
They were previously informed that I was nearly broke, with no income, and of course will be homeless in a few short months. None of that matters. What interests them is hanging onto my funds as long as they can. One representative even went so far as to suggest I make sure my "beneficiary" information is up to date!
Again, test them, see what they will do for you. And when you discover just how much your money means to them, make the changes in your accounts to make sure you can get that money out if you need it. Because they care more about keeping your money than they do about you.