Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Empower Retirement's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Empower Retirement

  8515 E Orchard Rd Greenwood Village, CO 80111-5002

• 

  Empower Retirement

  7 Shattuck Rd # C-20-C Andover, MA 01810

• 

  Empower Retirement

  PO Box 1700 Denver, CO 80201-1700

• 

  Empower Retirement

  11500 Outlook St Overland Park, KS 66211-1804

• 

  Empower Retirement

  333 Willoughby Ave Juneau, AK 99801-1770

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/02/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had a retirement savings plan with Empower, with a previous employer. The amount in the retirement savings plan was above $6,000, and to my understanding, above the limit for an automatic rollover when I left and moved to a new job. My money remained in the Empower plan for more than a year after I left that position. I routinely checked the balance in the account. Suddenly, this March, I found that the balance had automatically been moved to a new ***. The account was charged a *$700 fee* for this. That is *more than 10 percent* of the entire balance. My phone number, address, and email address were all maintained at the account. I received NO notice whatsoever that my money was going to be automatically rolled over. I am STUNNED that my retirement savings were moved without notice, given that Empower absolutely had the means to contact me about this and did not, even after the fact. It is absolutely unacceptable.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/14/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint # ******** dated May 2, 2025, to our attention. Upon conducting a thorough review of the situation, we responded directly to the customer in our letter dated May 5, 2025. While we are unable to share the details of this response with the BBB due to privacy concerns, the customer may share this response with the ******************** at their discretion. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Empower

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been dealing with Empower for several years without any problems. Things were good until I started to have my father's Social Security checks deposited into my account because I am his caregiver, representative, and Power of Attorney. He got approved for disability, and his back pay got deposited into my account. They locked my account and requested I submit my identification and my father's Identification, and the Power of Attorney papers. They said once I did that, we could move on from there and rectify the situation. I submitted everything, both IDs, POA papers, and the Social Security form showing that I am his payee representative. All the legal documentation to show that I had all the rights to accept his money, use his money to take care of him, and my mother. I am still waiting over a week later, and they still haven't unlocked my account. I called them, they won't send me to the appropriate department that is handling this ticket. All they keep telling me is that it has been sent to the Escalation Team, and that they will get back to me within ***** hours. They haven't gotten back to me, not a call, email, text, or mail. I have been calling them every day, same information given, nothing. no-one will tell me how long this is going to take, or who is working on it, or who I can talk directly to. Now, I am late on several bills, which means late fees, our heat is off because I couldn't order propane, and we can't cook because the stove works off of propane. My phones are about to get turned off, we can't buy food to eat, I can't take us anywhere because I don't have gas money. Everything is stuck in that account for no reason, I gave them everything they needed to show I legally can have my father's money deposited into my account. I offered for them to talk to my father, but that isn't even enough for them. All we want is access to our money so we can live, survive, and I also can't get my parents their life-sustaining medications. Help me, please.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2025

  Please note, it appears *** ******* may have been attempting to reach Empower Inc./Empower Finance. Although we have similar names, Empower is not affiliated with Empower Inc./Empower Finance.
  
  For more information regarding an Empower Inc./Empower Finance account, please contact that company. They can be reached at their toll-free number ************. We regret any confusion over this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company is the administrator for my firm's 401(k) plan wherein I am a member. On or about March 28, 2025 a representative by the name of **** ********* assisted me in transferring $300,000 from my 401(k) account into a new traditional *** account with *********************** At that time, I was assigned to a **** ******* to be my direct account planning specialist moving forward. On or about April 8, 2025 I spoke to Mr. ******* for the first time. On that date, we agreed to move my money from the initial default money market account (denoted as a Dreyfus account with about a 1.5% yield) to a Federated account with a 3.57% yield. A few days later, I left a detailed voicemail message for Mr. ******* requesting that my money be moved to a ******** money market account I located myself with a yield of around 4.23%. Since then, I have spoken to Mr. ********* about this issue, left another phone message for Mr. ******** and left a phone message for Mr. ********** As of today, none of the above phone calls have been returned and my money appears to be in an account labeled as Pershing with a very nominal yield thus far.I demand that a new company representative contact me immediately to resolve this matter. I can be reached at ************* The manner in which **** and **** have handled this simple matter is shockingly appalling; as they have been derelict in their legal duties and fiduciary obligations. Perhaps even more astonishing is that they both know I am an attorney and have yet treated me this way.Feel free to share my complaint with any pertinent state and/or regulatory agencies you deem appropriate, such as *****. Thank you for your assistance.***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  Thank you for bringing Better Business Bureau Complaint # ******** received on April 28, 2025, to our attention. In order to protect the privacy of our account holders, we will research the situation and will respond directly to the customer. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/23/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a letter from Empower informing me that I could contribute more to my account. When I called them to inform them that I would like to close my account, they insisted that I provide them with my social security number. I told them that for security reasons I would not do that. They said that there was nothing else they could do for me. I asked them to mail me the information, they said no, I asked them to provide me with a business address, and was told that they didn't have the ability to let me walk in an office. I informed them that my employer went out of business in 1993 . So it appears to me that my refusal to give them my social security number, means they get to keep my funds. I have concluded that it is my belief that this is criminal. Thank you for anything that you can do to help me. *.******* (Hard working American).

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint # ******** dated April 24, 2025, to our attention. In order to protect the privacy of our account holders, we will research the situation and will respond to the customer directly in writing. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Empower

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/16/2025

  They informed me through the mail, that I should corespond with them through the app, so I did. In order to do  that I was required to enter all of my personal information. When I was finally able to get access to my information, it said that I didn't have an account. Only my date of hire from my employer. How can they treat me like I had an account, when obviously my employer never contributed anything on my behalf? I see this as a successful attempt to get my personal information. What a lousy company. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/17/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  So I've been trying to finish a loan application for 1/2 my own money when they offer a loan allegedly.. but every day I'm told I they need more documentation or need to resend 1 paper cause I didn't put a check **** in 1 box and every day I ask is this all I need they say YES every time and I'm lied to and they keep dragging me along and keeping my money instead of letting me have it for my intended purpose with my own money that I'm supposed to be able to get for said purpose of the loan and none of them seem to be helpful one bit as I have submitted page 8 Alone 4 times I started doing this application 4 weeks ago, which is only 12 pages and requires 1 signature and they do not understand English i suppose cause they don't understand what paying remaining balance with cash on hand means.. this is ridiculous I highly discourage anyone from doing business with them as they seem to care nothing about helping their clients receive their own money. And I do not trust this company anymore. I will allow them 1 week from April 17th. 2025 to make ammends then I will be spending money to sue them for my money and my losses .. oh yeah I forgot to mention I'm homeless and living in my car and this is supposed to be for a primary residence to which i provided proof of my deed and pictures of me in my car laying down even on my property instead of a bed which I could be in if the money wasn't in their hands and I could have electricity which I have to use a cpap but I can't get power to a vehicle.. so 86 episodes a hour I could die but they don't lift a finger to help

  Business Response

  Date: 05/02/2025

  Thank you for bringing Better Business Bureau Complaint #******** to our attention. Upon conducting a thorough review of the situation, we responded directly to the customer in our letter dated May 2, ********** we are unable to share the details of this response with the BBB due to privacy concerns, the customer may share this response with the ******************** at their discretion. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/16/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been dealing with empower for months regarding a withdrawal. Have sent the requested documents multiple times and each time have been advised its not recieved or incorrect. I have finally gotten them to mail a check however the refuse to provide the amount of the check or the bank they use to issue even after explaining the reason. I have so been told a different answer about how the payment would be sent and when each time I have called even calls with in the same day

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint # ******** dated April 16, 2025, to our attention. We have conducted a thorough review of the situation; however, we are unable to share the details of this review due to privacy concerns. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review.

  Empower.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/09/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In an attempt to withdraw 401k money, I submitted federal (W-4R) and state (NC-4P) forms instructing Empower how to handle tax withholdings for the funds. They ultimately refused to acknowledge the transaction as a non-periodic distribution and instead, classified it as a rollover which requires tax withholdings at a much higher rate than I was requesting. These pre-taxes limit my ability to use those funds for the year until the taxes were actually due next year. I'm losing the ability to invest that money even in short term securities so it can grow until I have to pay it to the relevant departments. As our interpretations of the tax code was clearly unable to find common ground, I eventually conceded to accept the funds minus the tax withholdings but not without first experiencing some of the worst customer service I've ever come across from any organization. ****, employee *****, (who claimed to be a senior manager) was extremely rude, dismissive, and condescending. He even disconnected the phone line abruptly without a conclusion to the conversation or a salutation. His behavior completely left a horrible taste in my mouth and I would advise anyone to stay far away from empower as long as they employ people who communicate the way **** does. **** showed no compassion or empathy and no sense of basic humanity when communicating which resulted in a further strained interaction and an escalated sense of distrust of the empower organization. After reviewing other complaints about empower, a common theme of unsatisfactory customer services continues to plague their customers and I truly believe this will deteriorate the longevity of the company if it persists. ****, and those who communicate like him, will infest the viability of empower and I hope they part ways with him swiftly.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/22/2025

  Thank you for bringing Better Business Bureau Complaint #******** to our attention. Upon conducting a thorough review of the situation, we responded directly to the customer in our letter dated April 22, ********** we are unable to share the details of this response with the BBB due to privacy concerns, the customer may share this response with the ******************** at their discretion. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/08/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 13 I requested a rollover of my ****** 401K to ****** ******* with ******* ******* *** on the line. They told me I needed to upload some documents that needed to be signed. I did and they show received in their system on March 13. 10 days later ****** ******* notified me that they had not received it, so I called again with the same ****** ******* *** and they told me that would do it immediately and they would request it urgent. Today April 8th they tell me the dont have anything and they need to request it again and that it would be another 10 days, they also told me they will send a check for ****** ******* to my address. I am losing a lot of money and they dont seem to be responding.Please help

  Business Response

  Date: 04/22/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint #******** dated April 8, 2025, to our attention. In order to protect the privacy of our account holders, we will research the situation and will respond to the customer directly in writing. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/07/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In Jan. of 2024, I contacted Empower to rollover funds from a 401k account from my former employment. The checks were issued and sent out, but damaged in the mail. Over the next 8 months I called several times to reissue the checks and was told they would be sent out in 5-10 business days, but no checks were ever reissued. In November of 2024, I found out that they had misspelled the recipient's name the entire time. Calling back in December of 2024, I found that no check reissue had been triggered from the call, and they still misspelled the recipients name, meaning everything discussed in the call the month before had resulted in no action from their side. In January and February of 2025, I was once again told that they would send the checks out after calling. They did not ever reissue the checks. Calling in March, I was told that the funds had labeled as unclaimed benefits and been sent to Principal, as they were the new record holder of the former employer's accounts, but Principal has no record of this, and Empower has not provided any proof that they distributed these funds. Empower also sent me incorrect tax forms stating that these funds were distributed to me directly and not rolled over directly to a new institution, delaying my federal tax filing for 2024.On Empower's site, it says the following steps are taken when a check is not cashed 6 months after issue:At 120 days, sends a Stale-Dated Check Notification to the ******** 180 days, sends a second Stale-Dated Check Notification to the payee.Issues a stop payment for all uncashed checks older than 180 days.I received none of these notifications from Empower. Empower has been deceitful, neglectful, and negligent with my reitrement funds, resulting in ****************************************** my 2024 tax filing.Please have someone from Empower who is somewhat competent contact me to resolve this issue (if a competent employee exists at Empower)

  Business Response

  Date: 04/17/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint #******** dated April 7, 2025, to our attention. Upon conducting a thorough review of the situation, we responded directly to the customer in our letter dated April 17, 2025. While we are unable to share the details of this response with the BBB due to privacy concerns, the customer may share this response with the ******************** at their discretion. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Empower
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/24/2025

   
  Complaint: 23172488
  
  I am rejecting this response because: no letter has been received by me, either by post or email.  This matter is not resolved
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2025

  Thank you for bringing Mr. ****** additional comments to our attention.

  It is important to note that Empower is not a parcel delivery company. We rely on the services of dedicated third-party carriers to deliver retirement plan communications. The letter, dated April 17, 2025, was mailed to Mr. ****** address of record through the *****************. As it appears Mr. **** encountered an issue with the original delivery, a second copy of the letter was shipped to his address of record through Federal Express shipping at Empower's expense on May 1, 2025.

  Sincerely,

  Empower

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2025

   
  Complaint: 23172488
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the letter was received 10 days after sending, and contained no useful information.  I have had to contact Principal myself to resolve this matter.  The issue began and ended with Empower's mistakes, lack of communication, and horrible customer service, and was only resolved by my own actions.  Empower charged me $100 to complete this rollover, and due to their own incompetence, the rollover was never completed, the funds were sent to another company without my knowledge or consent, and Empower has refused to take accountability for their continued mistakes that led to this.

   

  I will not be accepting any resolution to this complaint, because Empower has done nothing to resolve this complaint.  I understand that the situation is not resolvable from their end now that the funds have been transferred to Principal, but the only reason those funds were transferred to Principal (without me ever being informed before the fact) is continued, repeated mistakes from Empower.  This whole issue started because they misspelled the name of the institution that the funds were meant to rollover to...they misspelled the word "annuity", which is in Empower's own company name.  I was told multiple times by Empower representatives that the checks would be reissued, months before the transfer to Principal occurred, and that never happened.  The fact that I have had to make dozens of calls and spend hours of my life to correct the mistakes that they have made because of this cannot be forgiven with a message that can be summarized by "whoops we can't help you"

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/03/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Mar 25 2025 empower locked my account for no reason and allowed someone to change my info, email, and phone number i have always had ********** number since i inherited a 401k from my dead wife.I called them requesting my funds be sent to my bank account on file and they declined to do so and my money is steadly being invested which i don't want it to, i have no job to even have a 401k anyway so i just want my account unlocked and my money transferred to my bank account.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  Thank you for bringing BBB Complaint # ******** dated April 4, 2025, to our attention. We have conducted a thorough review of the situation; however, we are unable to share the details of this review due to privacy concerns. We again appreciate you bringing this matter to us for review. 

  Empower