Positive retirement trends persist, despite economic headwinds

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo – (July 8, 2022) Empower, the nation’s second largest retirement plan provider,¹ has achieved $62 billion in retirement plan sales in 2022. The AUA figure represents funded and committed organic sales.

As of June 30, 2022, Empower has earned more than 2,000 new client mandates. The company added several large corporate and state-level plans to its book, which now encompasses more than 71,000 retirement plans and covers approximately 17 million retirement plan participants.

Request-for-proposal activity at Empower is on pace to exceed past levels across defined contribution plan types including 401(k), 457(b) and 403(b) plans of all sizes covering corporate, government, not-for-profit employers, as well as Taft-Hartley plans. In addition, Empower has identified some $1.6 trillion in new business it is pursuing in the market.

“The retirement ecosystem remains strong, and it is a reliable source of insight into how employers and workers alike are thinking about the path ahead,” said Empower President and CEO Edmund F. Murphy III.

Murphy noted that one constant in business that never changes is the importance of client service during turbulent times.

“As macroeconomic factors and market volatility grab both headlines and the attention of individual investors, our ability to serve client needs is crucial. We want plan sponsors and our advisor partners to be able to meet the needs of those individuals every day and we are grateful to have the chance to help a vast and growing array of employers and their workers,” Murphy said.

Empower has seen success in its offer to large plan sponsors who have made a commitment to providing a state-of-the-art retirement benefit to their workers.

Empower has achieved new mandates or renewals from consumer and industrial products manufacturer 3M, travel company JetBlue, building materials supplier F.W. Webb, energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan, non-profit healthcare provider WellSpan Health and private higher education provider Keiser University / Everglades University.

Empower’s government markets segment, which is a leading provider of 457 and other workplace savings plans for public sector employers, administers $200 billion in assets for 3.7 million plan participants, as of April 30, 2022. Empower serves public workers in some 4,776 plans, including 30 state retirement plans with recent renewals with the State of Wisconsin and the State of North Carolina.

Empower’s advisor-sold business, which encompasses plans with up to $50 million in assets, has added some 1,400 plans since the start of 2022.

Empower has achieved significant new client mandates through its partnership with retirement plan advisors through its Advisor Managed Account offering. Empower and plan advisors who work together to deliver managed accounts to plan sponsors and their employees have reached more than 830 plans and 13 advisory firms, as of June 30. In this partnership, advisors design the retirement strategy while Empower provides a top-rated customer experience.

Empower was among the first firms in the market to offer advisor managed accounts, which are geared toward advisor-sold plans regardless of plan size. The program is available to advisors serving the retirement plan needs of employers from across the spectrum of employer types regardless of industry or government sector.

The new sales represent an expanded footprint in the retirement plan services market for Empower which completed the acquisitions of the Mass Mutual and Prudential retirement plan businesses in December 2020 and April 2022, respectively.

About Empower

Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower administers approximately $1.4 trillion in assets² for more than 17 million retirement plan participants² and is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by total participants.¹ Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market: government 457 plans; small, mid-size and large corporate 401(k) clients; nonprofit 403 (b) entities; private-label recordkeeping clients; and IRA customers. Personal Capital, a subsidiary of Empower, is an industry-leading hybrid wealth manager. For more information please visit empower.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.