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OverviewPreparing your estateWhen someone dies
OverviewPreparing your estateWhen someone dies
SimplyTrust forms
Letter of Instruction
Home→Financial Institutions→Empower→Preparing your estate

How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Empower

Covers 10 retirement, 2 investment, and 1 deposit accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online

Empower

Subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco

empower.com→
Empower logo
Phone1-855-756-4738
Workplace Plans
1-855-756-4738
Individual IRAs (Investor Services, Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
Government/Taft-Hartley/Healthcare/Education/Faith Plans
1-800-695-4952
Personal Cash (Mon-Fri 8 AM - 8 PM ET)
1-833-569-6730
Empower Brokerage
1-877-788-6261
Prospective Plan Sponsors (Core Markets)
1-877-630-4015
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone1-855-756-4738
Workplace Plans
1-855-756-4738
Individual IRAs (Investor Services, Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
Government/Taft-Hartley/Healthcare/Education/Faith Plans
1-800-695-4952
Personal Cash (Mon-Fri 8 AM - 8 PM ET)
1-833-569-6730
Empower Brokerage
1-877-788-6261
Prospective Plan Sponsors (Core Markets)
1-877-630-4015
WebsiteLearn more→

Beneficiary Support Services

Phone1-866-442-3888
Toll-Free1-866-442-3888
Fax1-866-633-5212
Mailing Address

Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764. Express mail: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.

IRA Claims (Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026

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 13 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.

Empower Personal Cash
1
Log in to your Empower account at empower.com
2
Navigate to the beneficiaries section in your account settings
3
Select the account you want to update
4
Configure your beneficiary designations:
  • 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%)
5
Review and confirm your beneficiary elections
Online Portal→

Required Documents

  • Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)

Special Requirements

  • Trusts can be named as beneficiaries on all Empower account types
  • ERISA requires WRITTEN SPOUSAL CONSENT on Empower-recordkept qualified employer plans (401(k), 403(b), defined benefit/pension) when a married participant names anyone other than the spouse as primary beneficiary. The consent must be signed by the spouse and witnessed by a notary public or a plan representative; a consent the spouse signs alone is not valid and Empower will pay the surviving spouse under the plan document regardless of the designation on file
  • The spousal-consent requirement does not apply to Empower IRAs, the Empower Investment Account, the Empower Personal Wealth brokerage account, or Empower Personal Cash (though state community property law may still give a spouse rights)
  • 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
  • Primary and contingent beneficiaries allowed; percentage allocations must total 100%
  • Per stirpes designation may be available depending on the plan
  • Beneficiary designations override instructions in a will
  • For employer-sponsored plans, beneficiary options may be governed by the plan document
  • Empower Personal Cash accounts support primary beneficiaries only (no contingent beneficiaries); beneficiaries can only be added via full web browser
SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·Updated July 12, 2026

Sources

  • empower.com
  • support-personalwealth.empower.com
  • docs.empower.com

Data sourced from Empower primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.

Download these Empower instructions

Download instructions for the whole estate→

A 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

Subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco

empower.com→
Empower logo
Phone1-855-756-4738
Workplace Plans
1-855-756-4738
Individual IRAs (Investor Services, Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
Government/Taft-Hartley/Healthcare/Education/Faith Plans
1-800-695-4952
Personal Cash (Mon-Fri 8 AM - 8 PM ET)
1-833-569-6730
Empower Brokerage
1-877-788-6261
Prospective Plan Sponsors (Core Markets)
1-877-630-4015
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone1-855-756-4738
Workplace Plans
1-855-756-4738
Individual IRAs (Investor Services, Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
Government/Taft-Hartley/Healthcare/Education/Faith Plans
1-800-695-4952
Personal Cash (Mon-Fri 8 AM - 8 PM ET)
1-833-569-6730
Empower Brokerage
1-877-788-6261
Prospective Plan Sponsors (Core Markets)
1-877-630-4015
WebsiteLearn more→

Beneficiary Support Services

Phone1-866-442-3888
Toll-Free1-866-442-3888
Fax1-866-633-5212
Mailing Address

Empower, P.O. Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764. Express mail: Empower, 8515 E. Orchard Rd., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.

IRA Claims (Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM MT)
1-866-317-6586
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026

Estate planning articles

Learn how to protect your Empower accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.

When you're ready, we're here.

A revocable living trust skips probate, stays private, and takes 15 minutes.

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Estate planning articles

Learn how to protect your Empower accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.

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