empower-retirement.com Reviews 417

This company customer service is horrible. They are not trained give the wrong information and can’t execute instructions documented on their forms. Don’t risk your investments with Empower they are not trained properly and takes them forever to complete the process of issuing a death benefit. Also they will tell you if the fax you sent them and have a verification it went through successfully to send it by mail. Stay away from them

I created an account and linked all my accounts- a significant amount. The next time I tried to use it, I couldn't log in. I reset my password, but every time I re-enter it, I'm back into the 'forgot password' loop. Customer service was no help and did nothing to acknowledge my concerns over how suspicious this is.

Horrible customer service, horrible business. Glad companies like this get drowned out by Fidelity. My money is much safer OUTSIDE of this company.

I have increased my bi-weekly contribution with Empower and there is absolutely no consistency with how they post contributions on their website. It’s insane! I’ve made 3 contributions in January and only 1 has posted as of 1/30/26. How is this company allowed to operate and manage our hard earned money???

A few months after I left a company that uses Empower for retirement accounts, I looked into withdrawing or rolling over my account as it was only a few grand.

Only to find Empower had almost immediately, without contacting me in any way, deleted my account and cut a check they sent to an apartment address I had given over a year ago and no longer lived at. I will remember in future to keep addresses current as I move a lot, but it has been absolutely impossible to get this fixed.

Every time I call, you sit on hold forever only for the agent to tell you whatever it takes to get you off the phone. I download and print whatever form, have it notarized, and physically mailed, and don't hear anything until calling again.

They've basically taken my retirement account and don't care at all about ever helping me get it back. It's only a few thousand but it's my money and it's ridiculous I can't get it back.

I’ve had to make two withdrawal requests so far. One was for my surgery, and the other one is currently in processing for my tuition bill.

For the medical withdrawal, I did eventually get the full amount approved. But of course, like everyone here has said, I had to jump through an absurd number of hoops — insurance documents, doctor’s notes, hospital records — just to get around $700 (which honestly should’ve been more, but their fees are ridiculous).

Now I’m dealing with the tuition withdrawal, and it’s somehow even worse. I submitted the tuition documentation three separate times, spent seven long, frustrating days dealing with painfully incompetent customer reps, and only then did the request finally get approved for processing.

I asked for $595. They had the audacity to reduce it to $200, which means I’ll actually receive $150 after their massive $50 fee. Their excuse? Transportation from my house to campus “is not covered.”

Seriously… what the hell?

I’ve worked with several 401(k) companies, and this one is by far the worst. Incompetent representatives, unclear and shady policies, and a portal that’s practically useless. The whole experience has been exhausting and infuriating.

I worked with this company to manage my retirement portfolio when it was originally Personal Capital. The account representatives kept changing once it became Empower. Eventually the representative was a flippant, cynical young man who I fired and transferred my assets to Vanguard. I worked briefly for a former employer last year and accrued some profit sharing. When I requested a withdrawal of that account, Empowerment charged a fee that exceeded the withdrawal so I received nothing.

I had an account which had 89.01 which I requested to cash out of due to career changes. Empower sent me a check for 14 dollars and change and kept 75 dollars for themselves. I would advise everyone to reconsider who you choose as a retirement account manager if you are currently using Empower. They are crooks in my opinion.

Used to be a great company. Unfortunately, ever since they rolled out the app nothing works. You can't get in touch with a representative, waiting on hold eventually hangs up with you, they don't follow up on requests for a contact back through email. I can't access my account and can't get in touch with anyone to resolve it. I guess that's it...

In an ongoing problem that is still not solved:
1) Mom died May 2026.
2) They never sent me the form to get her IRA transferred and what was left of the minimum distribution for 2025. As I didn't know I had inherited a my share of this I didn't know to ask for it.
3) Multiple conversations (at this point I have probably talked to 15+ people over 10+ phone calls) later it got sent to me
4) Filled out the form to get the remaining RMD for 2025 (mom had taken some) and the rest transferred to another inherited IRA.
5) Faxed in 12/16/25 (they said faxed by 12/24 and it would be taken care of by 12/31
6) They stated they couldn't read and lied about sending a letter (which over a month later I still don't have and nothing showed up in USPS informed delivery)
7) Called 1/2/26 to find out what was going on and told I never sent the form. Then they said I had but they couldn't read it (so they didn't call me and tell me so close to their deadline?) So now I won't have the RMD taken for 2025 and will pay an IRS penalty plus I will pay higher taxes in 2026 since I have to take 2025 and 2026 RMD's.
8) Refaxed it 1/2/26 and they said they could read it.
9) Meanwhile the have given me multiple difference answers about what the 2025 RMD check will be for, won't tell me when they will process it, won't tell me when they will send the letter I requested 1/2/26 stating I had originally faxed it 12/16/25 so I can appeal the IRS penalty
8)Refaxed 1/2 and the stated they could read it
9) 1/21/26 called yet again and found out that no one was working on any of this (previous calls got many different answers and none agreed so who knows if this is correct but sounds like it likely is since this is taking so long).
10) Meanwhile their screws ups will cost me roughly $1250 in federal taxes and $225 in state taxes.

DO NOT USE IF YOU HAVE ANY CHOICE IN THE MATTER AS THE EXPERIENCE IS ATROCIOUS AND THEY DON'T DO THEIR JOB AND THEN IT WILL COST YOU!!!

Having an automated answering machine as for your SSN to get connected when you’re calling about fraud concerns is insane. I can’t want to get my savings out of this company because it’s only a matter of time until they have a high profile data leak or fraud event

Worst customer service ever since Empower took over Great Western If you can even get through to a live person after hours on hold, they give you the wrong information, put you on hold for long periods, never call you back when they say they will and refuse to help with the issue you are calling about. They are like little robots and at times actually hang up on you if you ask for a supervisor or someone who can help. And the investment return is not that great.

This was quite possibly, the worst customer service in existence. If you are ever in a "hardship" situation that involves your family? You are out of luck and they simply do not care. Left with lots of debt? Too bad. They will simply not help you. Look elsewhere!

Long hold times, persistent emailing, ridiculous fees for rollovers. Website crashes

My wife has her Advocate Health Care 401k account and the experience has been a nightmare. There was a transition made to a new set of mutual funds at the start of the year. Each of the previously held funds were to be transitioned to a similar fund. However, come January 2nd all of her money was put in a Target 2025 fund instead of the index stock and bond market funds promised. We are now into day 4 after we complained about the error and were told tonight that the transition was "mapped" correctly. That is total B.S. The representative tonight said he would have them look at it again. Meanwhile we are unable to make any changes to the account since we are not in the funds we requested for the transition. TOTAL INCOMPETENCE1

Empower Retirement is not equipped to handle basic 401(k) administration.

For six weeks, my paycheck contributions were incorrectly set to 92% — a percentage I never selected. Fixing this became a prolonged ordeal, with Empower and my employer’s payroll department repeatedly blaming each other and no one taking responsibility.

Customer support is phone-only and extremely poor. Representatives were often rude, gave conflicting answers, and showed little understanding of the problem. There is no email, messaging, or escalation option, which makes resolving serious issues unnecessarily difficult.

Even more concerning, Empower could not reliably locate my account because my address was entered incorrectly in their system (my apartment number was duplicated). There is no clear account number provided to customers — Empower instead relies on address matching, which failed and caused further delays.

The issue was only taken seriously after I mentioned regulatory escalation. Someone from Empower left a voicemail, I returned the call, and never heard back.

This is a company responsible for people’s retirement savings, yet it operates with weak systems, poor communication, and no accountability. I would strongly caution anyone considering Empower — including employers — to look elsewhere.

Empower is absolutely HORRIBLE!!! I called in and was on hold for 56 minutes then I had to talk to 3 different people one who insisted on talking over me. Then they tell me that it has only made $800.00 IN 2 1/2 YEARS!😡 when I asked why so low he informs me that it is in the most conservative account. I told him I NEVER ADKED FOR CONSERVATIVE!!!!!! I hope I NEVER have to work with them again.

This 401 K is the absolute worst. You can't leave your money in the account if it's less the 7,000.00 They will automatically disperse it to you. Charge you 190.00. They steal your money and it's an absolute insult. Don't invest your hard working money into this retirement account. Garbage. Lesson learned.

I would rate this 0 stars if I could. I have never dealt with a 401k company as complicated and disorganized as this one. I completed a loan withdrawal and called six days after approval. The first representative told me I would receive my direct deposit soon. When I called again, I was told my direct deposit had been cancelled because my bank “rejected” it—only to find out it was because Empower didn’t include the required leading zeros in my routing and account numbers.

They blamed me, even though the system should have flagged an invalid number if I supposedly entered it incorrectly. Another representative argued with me instead of listening, which shows extremely poor customer service training.

By the fourth call, I was told they couldn’t fix anything and that updating my account would take another 15 days. On top of that, after waiting a full week, no one notified me that my direct deposit had been cancelled. Instead, they decided to mail me a check—after I paid $15 for express delivery specifically for direct deposit.

This company has been nothing but frustrating and unprofessional. I do not plan to stay with this 401k provider much longer.

Others 401k only gives me 2 days to get the direct deposit to my bank account with high security. This place empower takes almost 2-3 weeks to get it, trash ass place!

I would give zero stars but the system would pot let me. Empower has been extremely difficult to work with. There is a lack of consistency in the information provided—every call results in different answers, and no one seems to follow a clear process. It is nearly impossible to reach anyone at corporate headquarters or the actual processing center who can resolve issues, leaving customers stuck with call center agents who only take notes and cannot provide real assistance. The delays in releasing funds, combined with poor transparency and limited customer service authority, create unnecessary stress and frustration