Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In August, I attempted to sign up for a retirement account for my new postdoctoral fellow position as I had been told of my eligibility by the UUP union. I reached out to TIAA to discuss the problems I was having with the *************** website that they run, and that it wasn't letting me sign up. They told me they could sign me up for a 403b plan that was the same as the ORP plan I was attempting to sign up for. I ended up signing up for a $100 contribution per pay check. I discovered that this 403b plan wasn't the same, so I contacted them the day after to get them to cancel it. Tried multiple times to get them to process my actual enrollment into the ORP, and thankfully my HR managed to get the ORP retirement plan properly set up. Since then, I noticed that my paychecks continued to get money taken out, and they have not released the money they erroneously took from me (again I told them I wanted out of the 403b the very next day before payroll was ever submitted). They will not process my reimbursement or the cancelation of my 403b plan. I should not have anything but the proper taxes taken out of it as I have continuously tried for the past couple of months to cancel this plan multiple times, calling the company, emailing them, and trying online through the retirement@work and TIAA website.

  Business response

  12/09/2024

  Dear Better Business Bureau, I am writing in response to the complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) by ****** *****, which was received by TIAA on November 25. In the complaint Mr. ***** states that he was enrolled into the incorrect retirement plan for his employer, the ***** ********** ** *** **** (****), and his attempts to have the plan cancelled and contributions refunded have not been acted on. When Mr. ***** contacted TIAA on September 10, 2024 for assistance in enrolling into the **** Optional Retirement Program, the system prevented him from enrolling into the plan due to a previous election he made in 2018 where he enrolled into the New York State Employees’ Retirement System (ERS). The only option to correct this was to work with his employer to reset his election, which would then allow them to register him for the **** Optional Retirement Program. During Mr. *****’ September 10 phone conversation, the TIAA representative incorrectly enrolled him into the **** Voluntary 403(B) Savings Plan, but that was not the intention of Mr. *****. To remedy this matter, we are in the process of refunding Mr. *****’ contributions to **** so they can return them to Mr. *****. Additionally, his account was updated so that no future contributions will be made into this retirement plan. I will continue to monitor Mr. *****’ account to ensure the funds are refunded to the institution. If you have additional concerns regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me directly at ****************** ** *************Sincerely, Mark B*** Sr. Customer Resolution Manager

  Customer response

  12/11/2024

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I am working with the NYSLRS to try and get a refund for the duration where the ERS account has continued to receive payments from my paycheck as my account should have closed for the ERS when my formal transition onto my new postdoctoral fellow position took place on August 14th of this year, and I have paid in several months now. Unless maybe there is something that could be done through TIAA as they are also responsible for maintaining that. However, the voluntary savings plan refund will help. Thank you,  ****** *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩