Empower bolsters retirement income platform with new partnerships

Empower bolsters retirement income platform with new partnerships

New innovative products added to current product set 
to help meet customers’ unique needs

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. Dec. 5, 2024 – Empower announced today an expansion of the suite of retirement income products available on its platform to help bolster the choices retirement plan participants have as they seek ways to secure their assets.

New income options include the Allianz Lifetime Income+® Annuity, a fixed index annuity with a guaranteed lifetime income benefit offered by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life), and the Putnam Retirement Advantage Income Series, trusteed by Great Gray Trust Company, LLC, which includes Putnam investments (a Franklin Templeton company) and TIAA’s Secure Income Account that can provide guaranteed lifetime income throughout retirement.*

Empower launched a line-up of retirement income offerings earlier this year partnering with several asset managers and insurance providers. This addition will help to accommodate retirement savers as they save through their workplace retirement plans to prepare for their future income needs.

Recent Empower research indicates 88 percent of individuals want help from their workplace to create a personalized financial plan based on their needs** and 52 percent know their financial goals but don’t know how to get there.*** In survey results, retirement plan participants express a range of concerns about income guarantees as they age. For example, in the latest Empowering America’s Financial Journey™ study, 61 percent of respondents expect that Social Security will be unavailable to them or will play a diminished role in supplying income in retirement. Just six in 10 Americans are confident their savings and investments will last until age 90.

“One of the biggest concerns American workers have is the fear of outliving their retirement savings,” said Rich Linton, president and chief operating officer for Empower. “Partnering with Allianz Life and Franklin Templeton and adding more products like these to our current suite of income offerings will help provide confidence to many individuals as they prepare for the futures they’ve worked so hard to achieve. We want to assist with both sides of the retirement equation so we can help people go from success [in careers, jobs, as savers] to fulfillment and peace in retirement.”

“At Empower, we believe that to help solve the engagement problem, we need to provide choices and solutions that are accessible and straight-forward for sponsors and participants,” said Tina Wilson, chief product officer for Empower. “Every participant has their own unique circumstances and every path to retirement is different so we want to engage with leading market providers to ensure we are providing options to our customers that help meet their various needs.”

Wilson noted that personalization has an impact on the asset allocation that is recommended to a participant.  Retirement age is a key factor to know when building a personalized portfolio in a managed account. Retirement plans typically offer a series of target date funds that allow participants to choose their year of retirement. Age 65 is not always the desired age of retirement. At Empower, data shows that 33 percent of individuals have modified their retirement age to something other than age 65 and with individuals over age 45, 66 percent have modified their retirement age demonstrating that personalization provides more tailored advice.

The Putnam Retirement Advantage Income target date fund (TDF), now available is an income solution tailored for participants, offering guaranteed lifetime retirement income and growth potential. This series employs tactical asset allocation and active security selection to help target the right risk at the right time along with a guaranteed income for life component. The guaranteed lifetime retirement income is a conversion option provided directly by TIAA.

Allianz Lifetime Income+® Annuity will be available at Empower beginning Jan. 1, 2025, through Empower’s integrated, personalized advice and planning solution, My Total Retirement or through retirement managed accounts with advisors, offered through Empower's platform. This guaranteed lifetime retirement income solution offers both protection from market downturns and growth potential as well as the flexibility, portability, and personalization to meet the spectrum of evolving participant needs.

Also in early 2025, plans will be able to access T. Rowe Price’s investment expertise within Empower’s managed account solution with the option to include Allianz Lifetime Income+®. By pairing these elements, participants can experience an amplified impact on their income, receiving the investment advice they need while securing the reliable long-term needs they want.

Learn more: Retirement income: A modern approach driven by advice

About Empower

Recognized as the second-largest retirement services provider in the U.S.1 by total participants, Empower administers approximately $1.8 trillion in assets for 19 million investors2 through the provision of retirement plans, advice, wealth management and investments. Connect with us on empower.com, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.New innovative products added to current product set 
to help meet customers’ unique needs

Media contacts:

Stephen Gawlik - Stephen.Gawlik@empower.com

Mandy Cassano - Mandy.Cassano@empower.com

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1 Pensions & Investments DC Recordkeeper Survey (2024). Ranking measured by total number of participants as of December 31, 2023.

2 As of September 30, 2024. Assets under administration (AUA) refers to the assets administered by Empower. AUA does not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company.

*Any guarantees under annuities issued by TIAA are subject to TIAA's claims-paying ability.

**Empower, Empowering America’s Financial JourneyTM 2023. All data is as of September 30, 2023, for 5.3 million active corporate defined contribution plan participants with a balance >$0

***Empower Financial Happiness study, August 2023.

Empower refers to the products and services offered by Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (EAICA) and its subsidiaries. “EMPOWER” and all associated logos and product names are trademarks of EAICA.

Online Advice and My Total Retirement are part of the Empower Advisory Services suite of services offered by Empower Advisory Group, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. You may lose money.

Advisor Managed Accounts relate to online advice and managed account services offered by a named registered investment adviser as defined by the advisory services agreement through the Empower platform. Empower Advisory Group, LLC (EAG), provides sub advisory services. The named registered investment adviser is not affiliated with EAG. The named registered investment adviser may pay some or the entire participant advisory services fees to EAG. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. You may lose money.

The TIAA Secure Income Account (SIA) is a group annuity contract issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), New York, NY.

The TIAA Secure Income Account is a guaranteed interest insurance contract and not an investment for federal securities law purposes. TIAA Secure Income Account is an annuity issued through this contract by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017: Form series including but not limited to: TIAA-UQDIA-002-K, TIAA-STDFA-001-NUV and related state specific versions. Not all contracts are available in all states or currently issued

Allianz Lifetime Income+® Annuity is issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Allianz Lifetime Income+® Annuity guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Allianz Life does not offer financial planning services.

Putnam Retirement Advantage Income Series (“Funds”) are bank collective investment trust funds (“CITs”); they are not mutual funds. Great Gray Trust Company, LLC serves as the Trustee of the Funds and maintains ultimate fiduciary authority over the management of, and investments made in, the Funds. Great Gray Trust Company, LLC has engaged flexPATH Strategies, LLC as sub-advisor to assist it in managing the Funds.  The Funds employ a tactical asset allocation and active security selection to help target the right risk at the right time with the following investments:  underlying CITs maintained by Putnam Fiduciary Trust Company, LLC (a Franklin Templeton company), a Great Gray CIT that invests in the general account of Empower, various money market investments, and, as the individual vintages approach the retirement date, a TIAA Secure Income Account (“SIA”). The SIA component can be converted into guaranteed income for life directly with TIAA. The Funds and their units are exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933, respectively.

Investments in the Funds are not bank deposits or obligations of and are not insured or guaranteed by Great Gray Trust Company, LLC, any bank, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, or any other governmental agency. The Funds are commingled investment vehicles, and as such, the values of the underlying investments will rise and fall according to market activity; it is possible to lose money by investing in the Funds.

Participation in Collective Investment Trust Funds is limited primarily to qualified retirement plans and certain state or local government plans and is not available to IRAs, health and welfare plans and, in certain cases, Keogh (H.R. 10) plans. Collective Investment Trust Funds may be suitable investments for plan fiduciaries seeking to construct a well-diversified retirement savings program. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of any pooled investment fund carefully before investing. The Additional Fund Information and Principal Risk Definitions (PRD) contains this and other information about a Collective Investment Trust Fund and is available at www.greatgray.com/principalriskdefinitions [greatgray.com] or ask for a free copy by contacting Great Gray Trust Company, LLC at (866) 427-6885.

Great Gray and Great Gray Trust Company are service marks used in connection with various fiduciary and non-fiduciary services offered by Great Gray Trust Company, LLC.

Putnam Fiduciary Trust Company, and Putnam Investments are Franklin Templeton companies. 

Empower, Allianz Life, Franklin Templeton, T. Rowe Price, Great Gray, TIAA and FlexPath Strategies are not affiliated firms except as noted below.

Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (EAICA) is affiliated with Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) who sold Putnam Investments, LLC to Franklin Resources, Inc., doing business as Franklin Templeton. As a result of the transaction, EAICA’s affiliate owns approximately 6 % of Franklin Templeton as of January 1st, 2024. As a part of the transaction, Lifeco entered into arrangements with Franklin Templeton under which Lifeco has committed to allocate assets over a period of time to be managed by Franklin Templeton’s investment managers and has agreed to support the availability of Franklin Templeton and its affiliates’ products and services on enterprise platforms. If certain Franklin Templeton revenue thresholds are achieved under those arrangements, Lifeco will receive contingent transaction consideration and other financial benefits. Franklin Templeton also includes Alcentra, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton Investments, K2 Lexington Partners, Martin Currie, Putnam Investments, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management as of January 1st, 2024.

WF-3717053-1224 RO-3997165-1224