How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Empower
Beneficiaries are managed online, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken by phone or by mail
Estate planning for Empower retirement retirement accounts revolves around beneficiary designations. These designations—not a will—control who receives the account balance at death. For IRAs and employer-sponsored plans, the beneficiary designation also determines the tax treatment of inherited distributions, making it a decision with both legal and financial implications.
Across 14 product types, Empower retirement accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through beneficiary designations on tax-advantaged accounts, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
- Add or edit primary and contingent beneficiaries
- For trusts: select trust as the beneficiary type and provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- Specify percentage allocations for multiple beneficiaries (must total 100%)
- For workplace retirement accounts: call 855-756-4738
- For individual IRAs: call 866-317-6586 (Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MST)
- Participant name, account number, and date of birth
- Primary beneficiaries with full legal names, dates of birth, relationships, Social Security numbers, and percentage allocations
- Contingent beneficiaries if desired
- For trusts: the full trust name, date established, and trust EIN
- Upload it through the participant portal (log in, then use Upload Documents); the delivery instructions on the Empower form list this first
- Mail to: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
- Or send via express mail to: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111
- Use the addresses printed on your own plan's form: some editions print a different lockbox (the Prince George's County edition uses Empower, PO Box 56025, Boston, MA 02205-6025)
- Empower will not accept hand-delivered forms at the express mail address
Required Documents
- Your name, account number and date of birth (on the paper form)
- Account number and personal identification (by phone)
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you. A required field: "If Relationship is not provided, request will be rejected and sent back for clarification."
- Percentage allocation for each beneficiary
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust). On the form, the trust's taxpayer identification number goes in the "Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number" field and the trust date in the "Date of Birth or Trust Date" field
- Add or edit primary and contingent beneficiaries
- For trusts: select trust as the beneficiary type and provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- Specify percentage allocations for multiple beneficiaries (must total 100%)
- For workplace retirement accounts: call 855-756-4738
- For individual IRAs: call 866-317-6586 (Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MST)
- Participant name, account number, and date of birth
- Primary beneficiaries with full legal names, dates of birth, relationships, Social Security numbers, and percentage allocations
- Contingent beneficiaries if desired
- For trusts: the full trust name, date established, and trust EIN
- Upload it through the participant portal (log in, then use Upload Documents); the delivery instructions on the Empower form list this first
- Mail to: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
- Or send via express mail to: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111
- Use the addresses printed on your own plan's form: some editions print a different lockbox (the Prince George's County edition uses Empower, PO Box 56025, Boston, MA 02205-6025)
- Empower will not accept hand-delivered forms at the express mail address
Required Documents
- Your name, account number and date of birth (on the paper form)
- Account number and personal identification (by phone)
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you. A required field: "If Relationship is not provided, request will be rejected and sent back for clarification."
- Percentage allocation for each beneficiary
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust). On the form, the trust's taxpayer identification number goes in the "Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number" field and the trust date in the "Date of Birth or Trust Date" field
- A copy of the trust document or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued ID for all trustees
- Trust EIN documentation
- Mail to: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
- Or send via express mail to: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Required Documents
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust. The full trust document or a Certificate of Trust (Certification of Trust) is accepted
- Trust amendment pages (if the trust has been amended)
- Trust EIN documentation. IRS Letter 147C or SS-4 confirmation
- Government-issued ID (for every trustee)
- Full legal trust name and date established (by phone)
- Account retitling form (for an investment account)
- Beneficiary designation form (to name the trust as beneficiary of a retirement account)
- Add or edit primary and contingent beneficiaries
- For trusts: select trust as the beneficiary type and provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- Specify percentage allocations for multiple beneficiaries (must total 100%)
- For workplace retirement accounts: call 855-756-4738
- For individual IRAs: call 866-317-6586 (Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM MST)
- Participant name, account number, and date of birth
- Primary beneficiaries with full legal names, dates of birth, relationships, Social Security numbers, and percentage allocations
- Contingent beneficiaries if desired
- For trusts: the full trust name, date established, and trust EIN
- Upload it through the participant portal (log in, then use Upload Documents); the delivery instructions on the Empower form list this first
- Mail to: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
- Or send via express mail to: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111
- Use the addresses printed on your own plan's form: some editions print a different lockbox (the Prince George's County edition uses Empower, PO Box 56025, Boston, MA 02205-6025)
- Empower will not accept hand-delivered forms at the express mail address
Required Documents
- Your name, account number and date of birth (on the paper form)
- Account number and personal identification (by phone)
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you. A required field: "If Relationship is not provided, request will be rejected and sent back for clarification."
- Percentage allocation for each beneficiary
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust). On the form, the trust's taxpayer identification number goes in the "Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number" field and the trust date in the "Date of Birth or Trust Date" field
What Empower says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Empower's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Employer retirement plan
On employer plans, the plan document controls what designations are permitted. Some plans route beneficiary changes through the plan sponsor rather than the participant portal.1
- Payable-on-death account
Empower Personal Cash takes primary beneficiaries only, with no contingents. Each Personal Cash account must be designated separately.2
Personal Cash beneficiaries can only be added through the full web browser, not the mobile app.2
Who can be named3
- A trust
A trust can be named as beneficiary on every Empower account type. On the form, select "A Trust" as the relationship and enter the trust as the beneficiary name.1
- A trust, payable-on-death accounts
On Empower Personal Cash, a trust is entered by typing the trust name across the First Name and Last Name fields and selecting "Other" as the beneficiary type.2
- The estate
The estate can be named: "My Estate" is one of the relationship options printed on the form.1
- A person
The form's printed relationship options are Spouse, Child, Parent, Grandchild, Sibling, My Estate, A Trust, Other and Domestic Partner.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
A handwritten signature is required. Empower states an electronic signature "will not be accepted and will result in a significant delay."1
- Employer retirement plan
Some plan editions require an Authorized Plan Administrator counter-signature before the designation is recorded. The handwritten-signature requirement applies to that signature line too.1
Beneficiary forms Empower issues1
- Beneficiary Designation form (form code "STD FBENED")
Completed by the participant, signed by hand. Sent by the institution on request.1
Return to
Mailing address: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
What Empower's agreement says about beneficiaries2
Which accounts a trust can hold4
- Investment account
Taxable investment accounts may be retitled into a revocable living trust. Contact Empower to request the trust retitling forms.4
- Employer retirement plan
Employer retirement accounts (401(k), 403(b), 457) cannot be retitled to a trust during the owner's lifetime. The trust is named as the account's beneficiary instead.4
- IRA
IRAs cannot be retitled to a trust during the owner's lifetime. The trust is named as the account's beneficiary instead.4
- Payable-on-death account
An Empower Personal Cash account "can only be opened in the name of a person" and cannot be retitled to a trust. Trusts, estates, charities, youth or minor, business or LLC, and organization accounts are not allowed.5
A trust can be added as the Personal Cash account's beneficiary instead, in the full web browser.5
Trust account forms Empower issues1
- Account retitling form
For investment accounts. Completed by the trustees. Sent by the institution on request.4
Return to
Mailing address: Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764
Sources5
- 1.Beneficiary Designation form (STD FBENED), Prince George's County Deferred Compensation Plan and Trust edition, 09/23/22
- 2.Empower Personal Cash help center
- 3.Empower participant login
- 4.Account retitling form
- 5.Business, Trust and Other Empower Personal Cash accounts
Sources
Data sourced from Empower primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Empower instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Empower primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Empower estate support
Phone
Workplace Plans (401(k), 403(b) and similar)
Investor Services, new or existing IRAs
Empower Brokerage / EFSI
Empower Personal Cash general support
Current plan sponsors, corporate 401(k) under $50M in assets
Current plan sponsors, corporate 401(k) over $50M in assets
Current plan sponsors, government, Taft-Hartley and others
Prospective plan sponsors, core markets ($0-$50M)
Prospective plan sponsors, large markets (over $50M)
Prospective plan sponsors, government and Taft-Hartley
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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