What to do when a Empower account holder dies
Contact Empower — 8-step process, 7 required documents, and per empower.com/beneficiary-claim: "on average, the claim process takes one month for you to gather and submit documents, and for document review and processing."
Beneficiary Support Services
Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764. Express mail: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
What happens to Empower retirement accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Empower's Beneficiary Support Services (1-866-442-3888) to claim the funds.
Death claims at Empower can be started through an online portal, which streamlines the initial notification and document upload. Phone and mail options are also available.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Empower:
Filing a claim
- Mail to: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
- Express mail to: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111
- Fax to: 866-633-5212
- Beneficiary Support Services: 866-442-3888 (Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM MT)
- For IRA accounts: 866-317-6586 (Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MT)
- Deceased participant's name, Social Security number, and account information
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Trust or estate documents if applicable
- Open an IRA with Empower
- Request installment payments
- Open a new account
- Transfer to an existing account
- Receive a check
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Deceased participant's Social Security number
- Government-issued ID for the beneficiary
- Completed Death Benefit Claim Request form (provided by Empower after notification)
- Trust documents (if a trust is the designated beneficiary)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if estate is beneficiary)
- Tax withholding forms as requested
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Empower runs a three-step claim: (1) submit the Notification form (https://docs.empower.com/EE/Empower/docs/Death-Notification-Template-Empower.pdf) by mail, express mail, or fax to 866-633-5212; (2) account access is restricted for security once the death is reported; (3) call Beneficiary Support Services at 866-442-3888 (Mon-Fri, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM MT) — or Empower Investor Services at 866-317-6586 (Mon-Fri, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MT) for new or existing IRAs — to be confirmed as beneficiary and choose a distribution option. Legacy plans matter here: Empower now services the retirement business it acquired from MassMutual (closed December 31, 2020) and from Prudential Financial (closed April 1, 2022), so a survivor holding a statement branded MassMutual or Prudential Retirement files the claim with Empower at these numbers, not with the old provider. Product differences: an employer plan (401(k), 403(b), 457(b), pension, nonqualified) pays strictly per the plan document and the beneficiary designation on file, and for a married participant in an ERISA plan the surviving spouse is the default beneficiary unless the spouse signed a witnessed/notarized consent to someone else; an IRA pays per the custodial agreement's beneficiary designation; and the taxable Empower Investment Account or Empower Personal Wealth brokerage account passes by TOD, by trust title, or — with neither in place — through probate on Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. SECURE Act: most non-spouse beneficiaries of an inherited retirement account must empty it within 10 years, while a surviving spouse and other eligible designated beneficiaries can still stretch distributions; a trust must qualify as a see-through trust to be looked through. Empower plan administrators can download the Death Benefit Claim Request form from the Plan Service Center. Practical filing tips from the claim page: write legibly, make signature dates match notary dates, photocopy anything you fax to check readability, and send death certificates with watermarks so they scan clearly.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Empower
Empower provides its own letter-of-instruction form. Answer a few questions and we complete that official form for you to print and sign.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Empower: Per empower.com/beneficiary-claim: "On average, the claim process takes one month for you to gather and submit documents, and for document review and processing.". Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Empower requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Deceased participant's Social Security number, and Government-issued ID for the beneficiary, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Empower. Empower acquired MassMutual's retirement services business (closed December 31, 2020) and Prudential Financial's full-service retirement business (closed April 1, 2022), so those plans are now recordkept by Empower even if the statements or account paperwork you found still carry the old brand. Start at empower.com/beneficiary-claim: submit the Notification form (docs.empower.com/EE/Empower/docs/Death-Notification-Template-Empower.pdf) by mail to Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764 or by fax to 866-633-5212, then call Beneficiary Support Services at 866-442-3888 (Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM MT). Note that Prudential and MassMutual still exist as insurers, so a life insurance policy from either company is a separate claim filed with that insurer, not with Empower.
Taxable brokerage accounts at Empower Personal Wealth (the former Personal Capital, acquired by Empower in 2020) can be retitled into a revocable living trust. Contact Empower at 866-317-6586 to request the trust retitling forms, then submit the completed forms along with a copy of your trust document or Certificate of Trust, the trust EIN, and government-issued ID for all trustees. Mail the package to Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764, or send via express mail to 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111. Brokerage accounts also support Transfer on Death (TOD) beneficiary designations as a simpler alternative. Empower Personal Cash is the exception on this side of the house: per Empower Personal Wealth support it can only be opened in the name of a person, so it cannot be retitled to a trust — you name the trust as beneficiary instead, using a full web browser rather than the mobile app, and only a primary beneficiary is supported (no contingents).
On average, the Empower death claim process takes approximately one month from the initial notification through document gathering, submission, review, and processing. Begin by submitting the Death Notification Template form by mail (P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764), express mail (8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111), or fax (866-633-5212). Account access is restricted for security upon notification. Then call Beneficiary Support Services at 866-442-3888 (Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM MT) or, for IRA-specific claims, 866-317-6586 (Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MT) with the certified death certificate and the deceased's Social Security number.
Empower's Beneficiary Support Services can be reached by phone at 1-866-442-3888 and fax at 1-866-633-5212 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Empower retirement accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Beneficiary Support Services can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Empower primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Beneficiary Support Services
Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764. Express mail: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
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