Estate planning and settlement at Great-West Life
Name beneficiaries online and report a death at 1-866-442-3888
Great-West Life is now EmpowerRebranded, effective August 2022
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company was renamed to Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America effective August 1, 2022 (re-verified 2026-09-13 against empower.com/name-change, which still publishes the old-name/new-name table). Empower states the change was NOT the result of any change in business, ownership, or corporate structure; that no action is required of participants or account holders; that existing contracts "are not impacted by the name changes and remain in force"; and that EINs, CUSIPs, and other identifiers did not change. Beneficiary designations carried over untouched. The name was approved in Colorado, the company's domicile state, on August 1, 2022 with ratification then pending in the other states, so contract holders received a second notice as each state ratified. Retirement and in-plan annuity business is serviced under the Empower brand today. Legacy individual life insurance and individual annuity contracts reinsured to Protective Life on June 1, 2019 are serviced and claimed at Protective, not Empower — and legacy New York business went to Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company, not Protective Life Insurance Company, which is not licensed in New York.
Great-West Life offers 8 consumer annuity contracts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 8 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Understanding the transfer methods available for each account type helps families keep assets out of probate and ensure they pass to the right people.
Beneficiary changes at Great-West Life can be made online, by phone, and by mail.
Great-West Life provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to manage beneficiaries online, and review 8 account types at Great-West Life.
Preparing your estate →Death claim process
Report the death to Great-West Life's Empower Beneficiary Support Services at 1-866-442-3888. The page lists the steps and the documents to send.
When someone dies →
Sources
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Data sourced from Great-West Life primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Great-West Life customer support
Empower workplace customer service
Phone
Empower Investor Services (Empower-held IRAs)
Legacy participant services line
Protective Life - legacy individual annuity service
Protective Life - legacy individual life and health service
Protective Life - legacy Great-West variable life service
Protective Life - transferred ADA Members Insurance Plans
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Great-West Life accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
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