Their fees are ridiculous My employer Transfered $150 to an Ira account at John Hancock. After 15 day, I was charged a $15 account fee. I requested to roll the rest to a Schwab IRA. John Hancock charged $30 for writing the check. In sum. Out of $150, John Hancock took $45 a little less than 30%. That should be ILLEGAL. I did not even choose this company!!! I would have given it a zero if possible read more

Someone helpful when moving a 401k. The goal seems to be to make it as complex as possible.

I wish I could give 0 stars. Withdrawing money from your account is like pulling teeth and takes forever.

customer service communications are terrible. Their representatives only read rules to you as fast as they can rather than speaking with you in a friendly and professional manner. Maybe they don't care. Frustration level is a 10 of 10 trying to communicate with them. I'm pulling all my funds and rolling over to Fidelity. They are opposite of John Hancock as far as professional and helpful. read more

John Hancock has perfected the art of taking simple tasks and turning them into multi-week stress nightmares. I genuinely don't know how a company handling people's retirement money can be this inefficient. Save yourself the headache. If you like things done on time, with clarity, and without finger-pointing, look somewhere -- anywhere -- else. read more

Do not use them for 401K they charge a $50 fee for withdrawing money. Stay away this place sucks. Use Principal miles ahead read more

I wish I could give 0 starts. They make it pretty much impossible to withdraw funds if needed. I wish my company did not work with them.

Had me on hold for half an hour, i finally got someone, non-native english speaker who said ok be right back while i try to figure out how to get you these funds, 20 minutes later they never came back. read more

Through my company, I have JH 401k account. their website sucks. truly sucks. If I have a choice, I will never choose JH. their services are bad, and fees high. Worst of it all, their so called SP500ETF fund is short changing. SPY rose more than 25%, yet, my account only rose 10%!! something is not right!!! Furthermore, calling their 800number is annoying. their AI voice is hopeless. It is so hard to find a key to talk to some humans!! I cannot even rollover my 401K $ onto fidelity account. Their website instructions were terrible!! Real case: at the very last moment, I was asked to submit a code they sent to my phone... No codes were sent.. and the website went haywired..and I lost all my info when I signed out. I signed out because the website just went spinning//// this is unacceptable of JH 401K read more

This is the worst company to deal with. Their web site is extremely slow. It would not let me enter my bank info. So when I called to withdraw money, they wanted to charge me $30 to do so. Then, it was going to be a 17 day wait to get the funds because I had recently created the web account, which I could not use to withdraw money, so I had to call in and they asked at least 7 questions to prove who I was. Yet, I had created a web account I could not use, so there was an automatic 10 day wait. read more

My dad passed 4 yrs ago and my mom passed December 4th 2025 my trust was set up to have the insurance pay out for both policies after my moms passing 2 policies and still no payout after a month soon to be 2 months and they keep asking for more documents and they are sent within seconds only to find out every time John Hancock asks they restart the process 15-20 days. These companies are meant to help the families move on but all they do is prolong it and make it more painful because like myself im ready to celebrate my mom and dads life and start a new but its like a re-run of their passing over and over again. I know they see it as a business but for the families its personal. If this is the normal way you operate then maybe this company should find another slogan for their webpage, my parents trusted you and you are breaking their trust which upsets me even more.....You take and take over 80 yrs but slow the process to hurt the families that are alive to move forward. read more

Offshored support. Some of the highest fees in the industry only low tier small businesses use them to offload their admin costs onto their employees Both of them suck read more

I requested to cash out my 401k in April 2025 never received a check... called back they told me to wait 4 to 6 weeks called back again when by August still had not received the check they said will send it then I didn't get it called back and they playing games saying this is what happened then putting me on hold for like 30 minutes. It is now October still have not received the check for my roll over to my new 401k and my tax person says it has been so long I have to pay 30% penalty on my 401k because it was not rolled over in time. They cost me tens of thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties and still to this day I have never received a dollar of my 401k. read more

AWFUL. Reps. have NO idea what's going on, they're hiring individuals they found on the side of the road or some sh*t. They opened an account in my Mother's name WITHOUT HER CONSENT (used her personal information without a go-ahead from her first). My father passed Feb. 15, 2025 ... it is now March 21, 2025 and they've somehow managed to f*ck up the process of his small annuity from his union. If you ever come across a John Hancock rep. of the names Julia or Brandon HANG UP. Horrible, just horrible. Get your familial funds out of there ASAP. read more

Through my previous employer is the company they offered for 401K. I would never sign up for JH 401K if they are offered with my next employer. You have to go through a 3rd party administrator and administrator with my previous employer just to get my money from JH. If the admin with my Job does not respond to them in 30 days, I will have to start the process all over. As mentioned in previous comments, the reps have no clue what is going on and how do you run a business with no process of procedures. It should not be this hard to get my money. They are the ABSOLUTE worse. An investigation needs to be. Was told a manager would call me back today. I am damn sure that won't happen. read more

I agree with Rick I who wrote" I never thought it would be so hard to get my money out of my John Hancock 401 k? Employer signs off and all they have is excuses, going on 1 month now with only contact when I call them and listen to a customer service person that asks the same 20 questions but can't help? If your employer has or is considering a JH 401K run away fast! they should be ashamed of how bad they treat their customers. I have spent the last few weeks trying to get MY money from a former employer sponsored plan,. They contacted the administrator of the plan after telling they would do so only after receiving my online reuest for transfer. After the administrator contacted me sang the approval had been given JH repeatedly maintains " we never got the form requesting the transfer." The first of many excuses. I spoke with four JH reps in the last 5 days and was given different excuses and very different policies from each one for why I still don't have MY money. Should have been a simple transfer/rollover. Take your money from there- if you can get it - and tell your employer and colleagues to avoid them at all costs. read more

Awful.. And that's putting it lightly.. The online representatives were extremely rude, condescending and not helpful at all.. The crazy part is they are all in different locations and still rude. How do you manage to get 3 rude reps in less than an hour.. Not one single professional in the group (Sad)... I will never use this financial institution again.. Please invest in properly training your staff.. read more

I never thought it would be so hard to get my money out of my John Hancock 401 k? Employer signs off and all they have is excuses, going on 1 month now with only contact when I call them and listen to a customer service person that asks the same 20 questions but can't help? If your employer has or is considering a JH 401K run away fast! they should be ashamed of how bad they treat their customers read more

The absolute worst! Just like the other review, we are trying to transfer 401k funds and they insisted it had to be by check. Then after 3 weeks, I call back and they say oh it went to the wrong address. Seems like a scam since they told someone else the same thing. Now wasting my time calling them trying to get them to cancel the check and just give me my 401k money! It's about to hit the 60 days mark from when they withdrew so now I'm going to have to pay taxes because of this incompetent company that's also charging insane fees? DON'T EVER USE JOHN HANCOCK. Rollover your money elsewhere every year or else you may not ever see it again read more

I hope you saved alot of $$$ by using a foreign call center to solicit proxy voting. I really like how you looked up my home phone number and call me up in the morning. These callers have foreign accents and one couldn't pronounce words correctly. Then they ask for ID info and ask to record my voice. Exactly like telemarketing scammers. I will decline to vote each time. read more

I made an annuity payment on November 20th and they have lost my checks for approximately 3 weeks and they have no communication between the processing center and customer service. They just don't care. They give me case numbers and move on. No sense of urgency. when I conclude my business with them, my investments are rolling for somewhere else. read more

They pretty much hijack your money! I inherited an annuity from my fathers estate and was rushed into making a decision on disbursement. They fail to pay on the date I stated each month, late by a few days ALWAYS so I wanted to transfer all the money out to another investment firm. We were on a conference call, they stated what we needed, we did it, got nothing. Then they state we need another document. We do that, got nothing, call again, they need something mailed. We did that, got nothing, called again, this time they say, "you can't transfer the money to another firm"... what? Why? It's not allowed with this type of account!... WTF is all I have to say, so I'm stuck with taking a 5 year distribution that's always late, and oh, you can't reinvest the money with them by opening a new account either. Not a good customer service crew, same women through the whole process, I'm shaking my head read more

Tried to transfer out my IRA to Robinhood and they refuse to give me my account number when I called, SHADY! They said I will need to pay for transfer fee when I know there should not be one. Then I found the account number hidden in the file name of my statement. SHADY COMPANY DO NOT USE read more

Who is the Self-Proclaimed Genius that proposed it was necessary to send a form that had to be filled out by hand to a Parkinson's Disease patient? (Who explained in detail to three different representatives over the telephone why he would be unable to fill out a handwritten form - but they required it anyway because it was company policy). And to iterate the inane performance of John Hancock corporate personnel the complaint form requires a handwritten signature for it to be processed. I had offered to appear in person at a Houston, TX location to validate my identity because I do understand that is important but apparently. John Hancock does not have an office in Houston where I could take care of that task. If John Hancock is such a large, efficient and customer-service oriented company, why don't they have an office in one of the larger cities in the United States? I now know why incest is illegal because of the mental deficiencies that this person's parents generated because they were brother and sister when they gave birth to this person who chooses not to use common sense. I am intentionally not including my account number because I intend to file this complaint with every public entity I can think of and see what kind of lame and incompetent excuse that the leadership of John Hancock could provide. I would be extremely wary of placing money with this company for investment because if they cannot use common sense, they do not need to be responsible for my future income. read more

Shouldn't be this difficult to withdraw my funds after termination of employment. The website is horrible also. I would never recommend this company. If your employer uses them, find an alternative. read more

If I could give ZERO star i 100% would! What a disgusting company! Was on the phone with 5-6 different people giving attitude because i told em I already told every single information about my self and it's getting overwhelming that I repeat my self over and over and have no answer why I received a 5$ ?!!!!! Check ??? After two months of back n fourth....THEY TAKE OUT OVER 80% of my 401K Disgusting!!! RUN FAST AWAY FROM THIS SCAM COMPANY read more

John Hancock managed my companies 401k. when I left I asked to withdraw money and they sent the money to the company! not to me. without telling me that was going to happen. now I have to go back to a company that I do not work for anymore and argue with them for MY money. read more

john hancock 401k site will not let me log on, it puts you in a circular log in cycle never letting you access your account. Never giving an error message or saying the website is down. This sucks how can you access and manage your funds? read more

If I could give 0 stars I would- This company has been one of the worst companies I've ever worked with. I left my job over a year ago as I'm disabled. Tried to withdrawl what money I have and have gotten absolutely nowhere. Not to mention- their website and services aren't accessible at all- Im hard of hearing and having to call and talk with someone is difficult. There's no option to email them either. I have called at least 5+ times to try and sort out my withdrawl and they don't seem to understand what's going on. I was told someone was going to look into it and call me back a day or two later. It's been almost two weeks. At this point I'm pissed. I just want to get my money so I don't have to deal with them ever again. read more

The worst company. Do not invest your money here. I had a 401k with them. and tried to transfer it and they took out all the taxes when I requested a rollover. I spoke on the phone with "princess" who knew nothing about my account and seemed like she worked oversees. DO NOT TRUST YOUR MONEY WITH JOHN HANCOCK THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY. Invest with fidelity. read more

My company chose to use John Hancock for our 401K. Our company decided to move away from John Hancock. The withdrawal process was not so bad but the check they issued was lost in the mail. They made me wait an additional two weeks before finally putting a stop payment on the initial check. I requested overnight delivery for the new check but they refuse. In addition, their fees are very high. read more

Terrible Customer Support very rude and didn't speak a lick of Engish, had a snark ass comment, but no help at all!!!!!

Just what everyone else was saying. This is scam company, I swear. They are the worst. It took me over three hours total to just get my rollover form filled out. Also they put a password protect on the PDF form and I called to find out what the password is and they said there shouldn't be and they didn't know what I was talking about. I am so dreading about getting my check in the mail. From reading the other reviews it sounds horrible as well. DO NOT go with them! read more

Abysmal service. I'd give negative stars if I could. This company is inconsistent, unorganized, an absolute disaster, and should not be managing people's money. I've been trying to roll over my 401k for four months, and they purposefully give me the run-around with different answers daily. They insisted that they could only transfer by check. Then they said I already cashed the check. Then they said they put the wrong information on the check and would reissue me one. Then they said someone stole and washed the check. They were calling me every 2 or 3 weeks to tell me, "There is no news" and "We expect news next week." Now it's been 2 months since they opened this fraud investigation and my money is still 'missing'. Shady af. If your company uses them - DON'T INVEST!! Get your own private 401K and don't risk a dime with these crooks! read more

I have the same exact story about a 401k rollover that someone else posted. Took 4 months of back and fourth between me and them before my 401k money was even sent to my financial institution, and I still don't know if it even made it there yet. They also allowed my 401k administrator to start a 401k for me when I had elected Roth contributions. Once I realized it 8 months in, they said I could convert it, but would be hit with a $2000 tax bill. Customer service is extremely unhelpful - even the supervisor told me everyone I talked to had told me the wrong thing. Never again will I work with them - even if it's for a 401k. read more

John Hancock will only take forms through the Mail or Fax. This company is still living in the stone ages. Why would you trust them with your money? Forgot a signature on a rollover form that I am not asking to do and you get to start over. 19 pages of forms to try and get money. Fidelity was great and no need to mail your SSN to them all done over the phone and money moved in a week. I am forced to give 1 star. read more

I worked for a company that used John Hancock for their 401K plan. Up until the begining of 2025, I was able to access my account online as I needed to access important documents. Unfortunately, the last time I accessed my account online in early January, the documents were not ready. When I went back a few days later to access the account online, I was unable to. I have called John Hancock multiple times, asking when I can expect to receive this document. Was eventually given a case number and told someone would either call me back or I could call back in a few business days. I called back. Apparently the agent I spoke with seemed very confused and kept asking the same question in different ways. John Hancock, I need to have my documents Have some reach out to me and let me know when I should receive these documents. At this time, I am unable to to recommend John Hancock. read more

Takes over 2 months to receive any type of payout. 1st they send the check to wrong address. Now it's delay after delay for a direct deposit. Guess that is what you get dealing with a company NOT based in the USA. Never again read more

This company is dishonest, unorganized, and is an absolute disaster and should not be managing people's finances. I highly DO NOT recommend them to anyone. Run for the hills. I've been trying to roll over my 401k for four months and they are purposefully giving me the run around. Do not trust them with anything. read more

the online services are terrible, their customer service is friendly but unhelpful but it's not their fault they can only do so much.