On September 1, 2026, a proposed class action, Powlen v. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and TIAA Trust, N.A., Case No. 1:26-cv-07494, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint challenges TIAA’s automatic Bank Deposit Sweep Program for certain IRA customers.
The complaint alleges that eligible uninvested cash was automatically swept into FDIC-insured bank deposit accounts while a higher-yielding money market fund option was available through TIAA’s platform. It further alleges that TIAA’s agreements promised that swept deposits would bear a “reasonable rate of interest,” but the rates credited to customers remained materially below short-term market benchmarks and TIAA’s own higher-yielding alternatives.
What Does the Complaint Allege?
According to the complaint, TIAA’s bank sweep rate changed only modestly while short-term interest rates rose substantially. For example, the complaint alleges that by June 2023 the Federal Funds Rate was 5.08% while the TIAA sweep rate was 1.00%. It also alleges that TIAA displayed materially higher rates for certain managed, overflow and money market options while keeping eligible customers in the lower-yield bank sweep program.
The complaint alleges that TIAA and its affiliates benefited economically from swept customer cash and that TIAA’s compensation structure created incentives to use sweep options that generated greater compensation. Customers allegedly received less interest than they would have received if TIAA had paid a reasonable rate or used available higher-yielding options.