Good afternoon, After review, it has been determined that Ms [redacted] made two distribution requests regarding her [redacted] (“Plan”) account The Plan’s sponsor, [redacted] , Inc(the “Sponsor”), forwarded completed distribution paperwork to us on December 1, 2016, indicating 33% of the account balance should be paid out to the participant, and 67% should be paid as a rollover to a [redacted] IRA Additional clarifications were needed on the paperwork; the needed information was obtained on December 14, 2015, and the distribution was processed on December 21, However, on December 18, 2015, the participant’s sole investment, the [redacted] fund, began the process of providing a capital gains distribution to all investors This additional contribution posted to the participant’s account after the completion of the distribution, resulting in a remaining balance of $2,A second set of distribution paperwork was forwarded to Empower from the Sponsor on February 23, This paperwork also indicated that 33% was to be paid to Ms [redacted] , and 67% was to be paid as a rollover to the same [redacted] account This distribution was processed as given, resulting in a payment to Ms [redacted] and a rollover check made payable to “ [redacted] for the benefit of [redacted] ” (in the amount of $1,390.28) being mailed on March 4, Please note that, as the second distribution was performed based on instructions received and approved by the Sponsor, the tax status of the distribution cannot be changed If the original receiving institution can no longer accept the payment, we would be happy to reissue the payment payable to a different institutionIf Ms [redacted] has additional questions regarding her account, she is welcome to call our Participant Service Center at ###-###-#### Our Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to answer any questionsSincerely, [redacted] Lead Regulatory Correspondent Financial Services Division Empower Retirement
Reasoning or not you're still an extremely shady companybetween the added fees and charging me to roll over to an IRA that I did not authorizeThis has cost me time and money that could have been better spent in a savings account
Revdex.com ID number: [redacted] Participant: [redacted] Plan Numbers: [redacted] [redacted] Plan Names: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention [redacted] had made a complaint with Empower Retirement on June 3, A response was sent directly to [redacted] on June 14, I have provided a copy of that response After review of the incident, Empower Retirement has found that we have not received complete withdrawal paperwork that is needed for us to process the requested transactionsThe Plans require complete, correct paperwork in order to distribute the accountsEmpower Retirement provides directed administrative services to the Plans at the direction of the plan sponsor and does not have any discretionary control over plan distributions Once the forms are received in good order the transaction will be completed We hope you will find this helpful If [redacted] has additional questions, she may call Empower Retirement at [redacted] Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mMountain time and will be glad to assist Sincerely, [redacted] [redacted]
March 14, Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attentionEmpower Retirement has reviewed Mr [redacted] ’s complaint regarding the transfer of his funds from Empower Retirement IRAs to his account at [redacted] We have found the following resultsEmpower Retirement has been having some issues with online access for the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) website Our IT staff is actively working on the issue and hope to resolve it soon For his statement concerns we can only mail or fax statements Email is not offered due to security concerns With regard to the rollover request, we did not receive his documentation until March 7, 2017, and he had not included the requested letter of authorization (LOA) that is required to complete the request The need for an LOA is specifically mentioned in the withdrawal documents We received an acceptable, complete LOA on March 13, 2017, and were able to process his request the same day The rollover checks are being sent out today, March 14, Please note that Empower Retirement is not a bank but rather a financial institution that manages multiple retirement plans All of our plans have their own required paperwork for withdrawals or distributions and cannot use outside institutions paperwork to transfer fundsWe hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] ’s has additional questions, he may call Empower Retirement at (877) 495-Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mMountain time and will be glad to assist youSincerely, [redacted] Financial Services Division Empower Retirement
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me, however I wish to request the company consider making future employees money easier to acquire because nobody really wants to cash in retirement savings and anyone doing so is doing it to remedy a tough financial situation I did finally receive my funds and am relieved to have it behind me, just hoping to help others in the future that end up in similar situations Sincerely, [redacted]
Plan Name: CFG Retirement Savings Plan Plan Number: [redacted] Complaint Number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionOur records reflect a beneficial account for Mr [redacted] * [redacted] in the CFG Retirement Savings Plan (the Plan), a tax qualified retirement plan which is governed by federal lawThe Plan is sponsored and administered by [redacted] ***for its employeesBy way of background, Great-West Financial (Empower Retirement) provides recordkeeping services to the Plan under a services agreement with the Plan’s Sponsor and Administrator, [redacted] ***(the Plan Sponsor)Under the services agreement, Empower Retirement is not authorized to take discretionary action with respect to the Plan or a participant account and as such does not determine eligibility for Plan benefits or authorize Plan distributionsRather, Empower Retirement processes Plan transactions, including distributions authorized under the terms of the Plan, under an administrative procedure approved by [redacted] ***Unlike a retail brokerage account, federal law and the terms of the Plan require that contributions to the Plan be maintained in trust for the benefit of Plan participants and may only be withdrawn under certain specific circumstancesIn general, because the Plan is designed as a long term investment vehicle to provide retirement income to its participants, under federal law an active employee of [redacted] ***that has not attained age ½ is generally prohibited from withdrawing retirement funds from the PlanBy contrast, a participant that has terminated employment with the Plan’s sponsor may generally request a full distribution of the vested account value, less the mandatory 20% withholding for payment of Federal income taxesAlthough active employees may not generally withdraw funds from the Plan, the Plan provides for limited distributions in certain exceptional cases, such as where a participant incurs a financial hardship as defined under the Plan and IRS regulationsMr [redacted] recently contacted Empower Retirement to discuss withdrawal of a portion of his account due to financial hardshipMr [redacted] was informed that, depending on the specific nature of the financial hardship, he may be eligible to withdraw a portion of his account upon the review and approval of his requestMr [redacted] was provided with instructions to begin the hardship withdrawal review process by downloading the appropriate administrative request form from his account online, completing the form and remitting the form to Empower RetirementAs of the date of this letter, Empower Retirement has not received a request from Mr [redacted] for a withdrawal due to a hardship distributionUpon receipt of such request, Empower Retirement will review and adjudicate the request according to the Plan’s administrative procedureInformation concerning the restrictions on Plan withdrawals is included in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) provided to participants at the time of their enrollment in the PlanIf Mr [redacted] requires an additional copy of the Plan’s SPD, he may download it from his Plan account online or by contacting our Participant Service Center or the Plan Administrator, Joanne S***, at Citizens Financial Group, IncIf Mr [redacted] has additional questions or would like to obtain a copy of the Plan’s Hardship Withdrawal Request form, he may contact our Participant Service Center at 844-465-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist himMr [redacted] may also contact the Plan Administrator, Joanne S***, at Citizens Financial Group, Incto confirm his eligibility for a distribution that may be available to him under the terms of the Plan Sincerely, Allison RC [redacted] Correspondence Manager Empower Retirement
Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:As previously explained, I find your policy dishonest The second paragraph simply explains how you and your office of attorneys formulate ways to transfer wealth from working people to yourselvesI find your "policies" to be an abject failure as related to ethical behavior and human decency Your company should be ashamed for sneaking in hidden fees to good, honest people who experience a financial set-back and ned to take a loanYou make money on the interest, which if fairHowever, this additional quarterly "maintenance fee" is solely profit for you In closing I will reiterate that I find you dishonest and morally bankrupt Sincerely, [redacted]
Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention Our records indicate that [redacted] ’s distribution check in the amount of $was initially issued on January 19, On July 14, 2016, Mr [redacted] called our Participant Service Center to request that the check be canceled and a new check issued to himThe new check was issued on July 18, 2016, and cashed on July 26, I hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] has any additional questions regarding his account, he may call Empower Retirement at ###-###-#### to discussService Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist him Sincerely, [redacted] Lead Regulatory CorrespondentFinancial Services DivisionEmpower Retirement
Participant: [redacted] Plan Number: [redacted] Plan Name: [redacted] Revdex.com ID number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention After review of the incident, [redacted] Retirement would like to extend its apologies to Mr [redacted] for the delays and incorrect processing he experienced with this transactionWe strive to provide excellence at every point of contact, and Mr [redacted] ’s experience did not match with that expectation A new check was issued on May 5, 2017, and delivered to his address by [redacted] on May 8, 2017, at [redacted] Retirement’s expenseIn addition, a Letter of Determination (LOD) was sent to [redacted] on his behalf on May 9, His transaction is now complete and in good order We hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] has additional questions, he may call [redacted] Retirement at [redacted] Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist you [redacted]
Good afternoon, Mr [redacted] ’s account was moved into an Empower Retirement Traditional Rollover IRA according to the rules established by the JAB Broadband dba Skybeam Inc401(k) Plan Because this process was completed without Mr [redacted] ’s direct involvement, online distribution requests have been disabled, in an attempt to prevent fraudulent transactions A phone call between Mr [redacted] and one of the managers of our IRA Service Team occurred on April 27, 2016, explaining the details of this process Mr [redacted] ’s distribution paperwork was received on April 28, We have expedited the processing of the request, and forwarded the check by Federal Express to Mr [redacted] ’s address of record on April 29, 2016, at our expenseWe will review our web site notifications for possible improvements to prevent similar issues in the future We hope you will find this helpfulIf the participant has any further questions, he may call Empower Retirement at ###-###-#### Service Center representatives are available weekdays from 7:a.mto 6:p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist [redacted] Lead Regulatory CorrespondentFinancial Services Division
Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (2000, 7, 2015/06/22) */ I spoke with a rep this week who apologized for everything I've had to go through and assured me I would receive the check by Friday 6/19/The check did arrive and I deposited it today so the Revdex.com can close this complaint because my issue has been resolvedThank you!
Plan Name: Aspirus, IncRetirement Plan Plan Number: [redacted] Complaint Number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionBy way of background, Great-West Financial (Empower Retirement) provides recordkeeping services to the Aspirus, IncRetirement Plan (the Plan) under a services agreement with the Plan’s Sponsor and Administrator, Aspirus, Inc(the Plan Sponsor)Participant accounts are established at the direction of the Plan Sponsor, and the Plan Sponsor supplies all pertinent personal information required to establish such accounts, including participant names, dates of birth, addresses, and social security numbers, among other informationThe Plan recently converted service providers from a prior record keeper to Empower Retirement in January, In order to protect against potential fraudulent activity in a participant account, the Plan’s Direct Deposit form requires that a voided check be enclosed to ensure the receiving account is held by the participantTo confirm this, the name on the receiving account is compared to the name of record for the participant on the Plan accountThe name provided to Empower Retirement by the Plan’s prior record keeper for Ms [redacted] account at the time of conversion was *** [redacted] As this name did not match with the name of the receiving bank account as given on the check enclosed with Ms [redacted] Direct Deposit form, we were unable to accept the form at the time it was receivedEmpower Retirement contacted Aspirus to confirm Ms [redacted] full legal name, which was confirmed to be *** * [redacted] on February 16, Ms [redacted] Plan account has been updated with her full legal name and we have re-processed Ms [redacted] Direct Deposit request, which was completed on February 16, Ms [redacted] automated required minimum distribution (RMD) payments have been established per her instructions, to be processed annually on December with a 10% withholding for federal taxWe believe this resolve the issues raised in her correspondenceIf Ms [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Participant Service Center at 866-467-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist herSincerely, Allison RC [redacted] Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meIt is unfortunate that I had to threaten them with filing a complaint to receive resolution, but for the time being it seems to be resolvedI'm reserving completely calling the mater closed until the check is received by my new 401k plan and the taxes are correct on my R next year Sincerely, [redacted]
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me I have already received the money that was owed to meThank you for your help Sincerely, [redacted]
October 20, Concerning: Complaint Number: # [redacted] To whom it may concern: Thank you for bringing this participant complaint, for Ms [redacted] , to our attention [redacted] strives to provide a great customer experience and we fell short of that goalWe extend our apologies for the inconvenience [redacted] has experiencedThe excess payment of $was sent to [redacted] by [redacted] at our cost on October 18, If [redacted] has additional questions, she can call the Service Center at Center at [redacted] , weekdays between the hours of 7:a.mto 6:p.mMountain time Sincerely, [redacted]
Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention The issue involving *** *** ***’s Loan from her account in the State of *** *** Salary Deferral 401(k) Plan and Trust (the Plan) was the subject of Revdex.com Complaint Case #***; I have attached the previous
complaint and the response that we provided at that time The Plan converted to *** *** (at that time Great-West Life) record keeping services on December 18, At that time, the previous record keeper provided us the remaining amortization schedule for *** ***’s Loan The schedule provided indicated the final payment of the loan would be a balloon payment of $ In order to standardize all remaining payments towards the loan, the loan was reamortized on April 13, This leveled all remaining payments to $However, *** *** was dissatisfied with the change in payment amount, and submitted Revdex.com Complaint #*** in response to the reamotization, as well as other issues, on April 19, As a result, the reamortization was reversed, leaving the final payment as the balloon payment originally received from the prior record keeperAn updated amortization schedule was provided to *** *** with this information; I have attached this for your records as well After review, *** *** has found that the current loan balance and loan payoff information is accurate, based on the amortization schedule provided to *** *** in April of We hope you will find this helpfulIf *** *** has additional questions, she may call *** *** at ***Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from 9:a.mto 8:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist her Sincerely, *** ***
*** *** ***
*** *** *** *** Attachment(s)
Plan Name: CFG Retirement Savings Plan Plan Number: *** Complaint Number: *** Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionEmpower Retirement, as a directed record keeper, is unable to process transactions in violation of the Plan’s terms and conditionsEmpower would like to extend our apologies to Mr***: our previous correspondence incorrectly indicated that the supporting documentation submitted for his transaction request did not include foreclosure language, but after a closer review it has been confirmed to contain such languageHowever, as communicated to Mr*** on January 12, 2018, the document is dated November 7, 2017, and requires payment be made to avoid foreclosure by December 7, The Plan requires documentation that is current-dated in order to process a hardship withdrawalEmpower has made three attempts to contact Mr*** by phone to assist with completing his transaction request, and has requested the Plan Sponsor reach out to assist on two occasionsTo date, we have not received any communication from Mr***The Plan Sponsor has informed us that Mr*** has separated from service with the *** *** *** ***., on February 6, As such, Mr*** is now eligible to request a full distribution of his account under the terms of the PlanHe may do so by contacting our Participant Service Center and requesting the transaction over the phoneNo supporting documentation is required for a separation from service distribution requestIf Mr*** has additional questions or would like to request a separation from service distribution, he may contact our Service Center at 844-465-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist him Sincerely, Allison RC*** Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Plan Name: *** *** ***, Inc401(k) Plan Plan Number: *** Complaint Number: ***
Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionBy way of background, the plan sponsor of the *** *** ***, Inc401(k) Plan (the Plan) and the *** 401(k) Plan (the *** Plan) directed Empower Retirement to transfer certain participants from the *** Plan into the Plan as part of a corporate transitionAs part of the transfer process, the plan sponsor provided Empower with the list of participants to be transferred to the Plan in two groupingsThe first grouping was provided in September and transferred to the Plan in October 2017, and the second grouping was provided in December and transferred to the Plan in January Ms*** *** was included in the second group provided to Empower in DecemberFor the second group, the transfer of assets took place from the *** Plan to the Plan on December 29, After this transfer, a reconciliation process is performed to ensure all values transferred between the two affected Plans are accurateThis process ended on January 12, 2018, and Ms*** account balance now displays in her Plan accountIf Ms*** has additional questions or concerns regarding the timing of the transfer of her account to the Plan, she should contact *** ***, Plan Administrator, at *** *** ***, IncMs*** can be reached by phone at 703-269-9232, or by email at ***If she has any other questions regarding her Plan account, she may contact our Participant Service Center at 800-338-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist her Sincerely, Allison RC*** Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/24) */
Our Participant Services Department phoned *** *** on *** *** *** *** *** had requested a rollover of his funds but completed the paperwork incorrectlyWe sent him a letter notifying him of the errorUnfortunately, his
plan did a De Minimus force out of the funds before he received our letter
Empower Retirement is working with him toward a resolutionWe appreciate *** *** bringing this matter to our attentionPlease let me know if anything further is needed
*** ***, Assistant Manager
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2015/08/31) */
Participant: *** ** *** Plan Number: *** Plan Name:
*** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan Revdex.com ID number: *** Dear Ms***, This letter is in response to your correspondence dated November 10, regarding the distribution of Ms***’s account from *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan (the “Plan”)Thank you for bringing this inquiry to our attention By way of background, Empower Retirement provides non-discretionary recordkeeping services to Plan under a services agreement with the Plan Sponsor and Plan Administrator, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement PlanUnder the terms of the agreement, Empower Retirement is not a Plan fiduciary and is not authorized to make Plan benefit determinations or act with any discretion over the management of the Plan. *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan is the Plan fiduciary and must approve distribution requests before directing Empower Retirement to pay Plan benefits Our records reflect that *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan terminated the Plan on July 17, As part of the Plan termination process, Ms*** provided an election for the distribution of her Plan account where she requested that the Plan pay her $5,from the account as a lump sum and to pay the remaining balance as a direct rollover to an Empower IRAMs***’s distribution election was provided to *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan for its review and approval prior to the Plan termination on July 17, However, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan did not provide its approval for Ms***’s distribution electionOn the date of the Plan’s termination, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan directed Empower Retirement to process the distribution of the remaining Plan accounts as a direct rollover to an Empower IRAEmpower Retirement followed the instructions provided by the Plan Sponsor and on July 3, 2017, processed Ms***’s distribution from the Plan as a direct rollover to an Empower IRA established for her benefit We apologize for any inconvenience, but as we have noted, Empower Retirement did not receive approval for Ms***’s distribution election from the Plan fiduciary prior to the Plan termination dateThe distribution of Ms***’s account was paid on the date of the Plan’s termination in accordance with the instructions provided by the Plan fiduciaryOur records reflect that the Plan is now terminated and all Plan benefits have been paidIn response to Ms***’s request, we attempted to contact the Plan fiduciary, but did not receive a responseWe believe the Plan Sponsor is no longer in business. *** ** ***
*** ***
*** ***
Good afternoon, After review, it has been determined that Ms [redacted] made two distribution requests regarding her [redacted] (“Plan”) account The Plan’s sponsor, [redacted] , Inc(the “Sponsor”), forwarded completed distribution paperwork to us on December 1, 2016, indicating 33% of the account balance should be paid out to the participant, and 67% should be paid as a rollover to a [redacted] IRA Additional clarifications were needed on the paperwork; the needed information was obtained on December 14, 2015, and the distribution was processed on December 21, However, on December 18, 2015, the participant’s sole investment, the [redacted] fund, began the process of providing a capital gains distribution to all investors This additional contribution posted to the participant’s account after the completion of the distribution, resulting in a remaining balance of $2,A second set of distribution paperwork was forwarded to Empower from the Sponsor on February 23, This paperwork also indicated that 33% was to be paid to Ms [redacted] , and 67% was to be paid as a rollover to the same [redacted] account This distribution was processed as given, resulting in a payment to Ms [redacted] and a rollover check made payable to “ [redacted] for the benefit of [redacted] ” (in the amount of $1,390.28) being mailed on March 4, Please note that, as the second distribution was performed based on instructions received and approved by the Sponsor, the tax status of the distribution cannot be changed If the original receiving institution can no longer accept the payment, we would be happy to reissue the payment payable to a different institutionIf Ms [redacted] has additional questions regarding her account, she is welcome to call our Participant Service Center at ###-###-#### Our Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to answer any questionsSincerely, [redacted] Lead Regulatory Correspondent Financial Services Division Empower Retirement
Reasoning or not you're still an extremely shady companybetween the added fees and charging me to roll over to an IRA that I did not authorizeThis has cost me time and money that could have been better spent in a savings account
Revdex.com ID number: [redacted] Participant: [redacted] Plan Numbers: [redacted] [redacted] Plan Names: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention [redacted] had made a complaint with Empower Retirement on June 3, A response was sent directly to [redacted] on June 14, I have provided a copy of that response After review of the incident, Empower Retirement has found that we have not received complete withdrawal paperwork that is needed for us to process the requested transactionsThe Plans require complete, correct paperwork in order to distribute the accountsEmpower Retirement provides directed administrative services to the Plans at the direction of the plan sponsor and does not have any discretionary control over plan distributions Once the forms are received in good order the transaction will be completed We hope you will find this helpful If [redacted] has additional questions, she may call Empower Retirement at [redacted] Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mMountain time and will be glad to assist Sincerely, [redacted] [redacted]
March 14, Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attentionEmpower Retirement has reviewed Mr [redacted] ’s complaint regarding the transfer of his funds from Empower Retirement IRAs to his account at [redacted] We have found the following resultsEmpower Retirement has been having some issues with online access for the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) website Our IT staff is actively working on the issue and hope to resolve it soon For his statement concerns we can only mail or fax statements Email is not offered due to security concerns With regard to the rollover request, we did not receive his documentation until March 7, 2017, and he had not included the requested letter of authorization (LOA) that is required to complete the request The need for an LOA is specifically mentioned in the withdrawal documents We received an acceptable, complete LOA on March 13, 2017, and were able to process his request the same day The rollover checks are being sent out today, March 14, Please note that Empower Retirement is not a bank but rather a financial institution that manages multiple retirement plans All of our plans have their own required paperwork for withdrawals or distributions and cannot use outside institutions paperwork to transfer fundsWe hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] ’s has additional questions, he may call Empower Retirement at (877) 495-Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mMountain time and will be glad to assist youSincerely, [redacted] Financial Services Division Empower Retirement
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me, however I wish to request the company consider making future employees money easier to acquire because nobody really wants to cash in retirement savings and anyone doing so is doing it to remedy a tough financial situation I did finally receive my funds and am relieved to have it behind me, just hoping to help others in the future that end up in similar situations Sincerely, [redacted]
Plan Name: CFG Retirement Savings Plan Plan Number: [redacted] Complaint Number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionOur records reflect a beneficial account for Mr [redacted] * [redacted] in the CFG Retirement Savings Plan (the Plan), a tax qualified retirement plan which is governed by federal lawThe Plan is sponsored and administered by [redacted] ***for its employeesBy way of background, Great-West Financial (Empower Retirement) provides recordkeeping services to the Plan under a services agreement with the Plan’s Sponsor and Administrator, [redacted] ***(the Plan Sponsor)Under the services agreement, Empower Retirement is not authorized to take discretionary action with respect to the Plan or a participant account and as such does not determine eligibility for Plan benefits or authorize Plan distributionsRather, Empower Retirement processes Plan transactions, including distributions authorized under the terms of the Plan, under an administrative procedure approved by [redacted] ***Unlike a retail brokerage account, federal law and the terms of the Plan require that contributions to the Plan be maintained in trust for the benefit of Plan participants and may only be withdrawn under certain specific circumstancesIn general, because the Plan is designed as a long term investment vehicle to provide retirement income to its participants, under federal law an active employee of [redacted] ***that has not attained age ½ is generally prohibited from withdrawing retirement funds from the PlanBy contrast, a participant that has terminated employment with the Plan’s sponsor may generally request a full distribution of the vested account value, less the mandatory 20% withholding for payment of Federal income taxesAlthough active employees may not generally withdraw funds from the Plan, the Plan provides for limited distributions in certain exceptional cases, such as where a participant incurs a financial hardship as defined under the Plan and IRS regulationsMr [redacted] recently contacted Empower Retirement to discuss withdrawal of a portion of his account due to financial hardshipMr [redacted] was informed that, depending on the specific nature of the financial hardship, he may be eligible to withdraw a portion of his account upon the review and approval of his requestMr [redacted] was provided with instructions to begin the hardship withdrawal review process by downloading the appropriate administrative request form from his account online, completing the form and remitting the form to Empower RetirementAs of the date of this letter, Empower Retirement has not received a request from Mr [redacted] for a withdrawal due to a hardship distributionUpon receipt of such request, Empower Retirement will review and adjudicate the request according to the Plan’s administrative procedureInformation concerning the restrictions on Plan withdrawals is included in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) provided to participants at the time of their enrollment in the PlanIf Mr [redacted] requires an additional copy of the Plan’s SPD, he may download it from his Plan account online or by contacting our Participant Service Center or the Plan Administrator, Joanne S***, at Citizens Financial Group, IncIf Mr [redacted] has additional questions or would like to obtain a copy of the Plan’s Hardship Withdrawal Request form, he may contact our Participant Service Center at 844-465-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist himMr [redacted] may also contact the Plan Administrator, Joanne S***, at Citizens Financial Group, Incto confirm his eligibility for a distribution that may be available to him under the terms of the Plan Sincerely, Allison RC [redacted] Correspondence Manager Empower Retirement
Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:As previously explained, I find your policy dishonest The second paragraph simply explains how you and your office of attorneys formulate ways to transfer wealth from working people to yourselvesI find your "policies" to be an abject failure as related to ethical behavior and human decency Your company should be ashamed for sneaking in hidden fees to good, honest people who experience a financial set-back and ned to take a loanYou make money on the interest, which if fairHowever, this additional quarterly "maintenance fee" is solely profit for you In closing I will reiterate that I find you dishonest and morally bankrupt Sincerely, [redacted]
Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention Our records indicate that [redacted] ’s distribution check in the amount of $was initially issued on January 19, On July 14, 2016, Mr [redacted] called our Participant Service Center to request that the check be canceled and a new check issued to himThe new check was issued on July 18, 2016, and cashed on July 26, I hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] has any additional questions regarding his account, he may call Empower Retirement at ###-###-#### to discussService Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist him Sincerely, [redacted] Lead Regulatory CorrespondentFinancial Services DivisionEmpower Retirement
Participant: [redacted] Plan Number: [redacted] Plan Name: [redacted] Revdex.com ID number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention After review of the incident, [redacted] Retirement would like to extend its apologies to Mr [redacted] for the delays and incorrect processing he experienced with this transactionWe strive to provide excellence at every point of contact, and Mr [redacted] ’s experience did not match with that expectation A new check was issued on May 5, 2017, and delivered to his address by [redacted] on May 8, 2017, at [redacted] Retirement’s expenseIn addition, a Letter of Determination (LOD) was sent to [redacted] on his behalf on May 9, His transaction is now complete and in good order We hope you will find this helpful If Mr [redacted] has additional questions, he may call [redacted] Retirement at [redacted] Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from a.mto p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist you [redacted]
Good afternoon, Mr [redacted] ’s account was moved into an Empower Retirement Traditional Rollover IRA according to the rules established by the JAB Broadband dba Skybeam Inc401(k) Plan Because this process was completed without Mr [redacted] ’s direct involvement, online distribution requests have been disabled, in an attempt to prevent fraudulent transactions A phone call between Mr [redacted] and one of the managers of our IRA Service Team occurred on April 27, 2016, explaining the details of this process Mr [redacted] ’s distribution paperwork was received on April 28, We have expedited the processing of the request, and forwarded the check by Federal Express to Mr [redacted] ’s address of record on April 29, 2016, at our expenseWe will review our web site notifications for possible improvements to prevent similar issues in the future We hope you will find this helpfulIf the participant has any further questions, he may call Empower Retirement at ###-###-#### Service Center representatives are available weekdays from 7:a.mto 6:p.mCentral time and will be glad to assist [redacted] Lead Regulatory CorrespondentFinancial Services Division
Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (2000, 7, 2015/06/22) */ I spoke with a rep this week who apologized for everything I've had to go through and assured me I would receive the check by Friday 6/19/The check did arrive and I deposited it today so the Revdex.com can close this complaint because my issue has been resolvedThank you!
Plan Name: Aspirus, IncRetirement Plan Plan Number: [redacted] Complaint Number: [redacted] Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionBy way of background, Great-West Financial (Empower Retirement) provides recordkeeping services to the Aspirus, IncRetirement Plan (the Plan) under a services agreement with the Plan’s Sponsor and Administrator, Aspirus, Inc(the Plan Sponsor)Participant accounts are established at the direction of the Plan Sponsor, and the Plan Sponsor supplies all pertinent personal information required to establish such accounts, including participant names, dates of birth, addresses, and social security numbers, among other informationThe Plan recently converted service providers from a prior record keeper to Empower Retirement in January, In order to protect against potential fraudulent activity in a participant account, the Plan’s Direct Deposit form requires that a voided check be enclosed to ensure the receiving account is held by the participantTo confirm this, the name on the receiving account is compared to the name of record for the participant on the Plan accountThe name provided to Empower Retirement by the Plan’s prior record keeper for Ms [redacted] account at the time of conversion was *** [redacted] As this name did not match with the name of the receiving bank account as given on the check enclosed with Ms [redacted] Direct Deposit form, we were unable to accept the form at the time it was receivedEmpower Retirement contacted Aspirus to confirm Ms [redacted] full legal name, which was confirmed to be *** * [redacted] on February 16, Ms [redacted] Plan account has been updated with her full legal name and we have re-processed Ms [redacted] Direct Deposit request, which was completed on February 16, Ms [redacted] automated required minimum distribution (RMD) payments have been established per her instructions, to be processed annually on December with a 10% withholding for federal taxWe believe this resolve the issues raised in her correspondenceIf Ms [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Participant Service Center at 866-467-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist herSincerely, Allison RC [redacted] Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meIt is unfortunate that I had to threaten them with filing a complaint to receive resolution, but for the time being it seems to be resolvedI'm reserving completely calling the mater closed until the check is received by my new 401k plan and the taxes are correct on my R next year Sincerely, [redacted]
Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me I have already received the money that was owed to meThank you for your help Sincerely, [redacted]
October 20, Concerning: Complaint Number: # [redacted] To whom it may concern: Thank you for bringing this participant complaint, for Ms [redacted] , to our attention [redacted] strives to provide a great customer experience and we fell short of that goalWe extend our apologies for the inconvenience [redacted] has experiencedThe excess payment of $was sent to [redacted] by [redacted] at our cost on October 18, If [redacted] has additional questions, she can call the Service Center at Center at [redacted] , weekdays between the hours of 7:a.mto 6:p.mMountain time Sincerely, [redacted]
Thank you for bringing this participant complaint to our attention The issue involving *** *** ***’s Loan from her account in the State of *** *** Salary Deferral 401(k) Plan and Trust (the Plan) was the subject of Revdex.com Complaint Case #***; I have attached the previous
complaint and the response that we provided at that time The Plan converted to *** *** (at that time Great-West Life) record keeping services on December 18, At that time, the previous record keeper provided us the remaining amortization schedule for *** ***’s Loan The schedule provided indicated the final payment of the loan would be a balloon payment of $ In order to standardize all remaining payments towards the loan, the loan was reamortized on April 13, This leveled all remaining payments to $However, *** *** was dissatisfied with the change in payment amount, and submitted Revdex.com Complaint #*** in response to the reamotization, as well as other issues, on April 19, As a result, the reamortization was reversed, leaving the final payment as the balloon payment originally received from the prior record keeperAn updated amortization schedule was provided to *** *** with this information; I have attached this for your records as well After review, *** *** has found that the current loan balance and loan payoff information is accurate, based on the amortization schedule provided to *** *** in April of We hope you will find this helpfulIf *** *** has additional questions, she may call *** *** at ***Participant Service Center representatives are available weekdays from 9:a.mto 8:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist her Sincerely, *** ***
*** *** ***
*** *** *** *** Attachment(s)
Plan Name: CFG Retirement Savings Plan Plan Number: *** Complaint Number: *** Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionEmpower Retirement, as a directed record keeper, is unable to process transactions in violation of the Plan’s terms and conditionsEmpower would like to extend our apologies to Mr***: our previous correspondence incorrectly indicated that the supporting documentation submitted for his transaction request did not include foreclosure language, but after a closer review it has been confirmed to contain such languageHowever, as communicated to Mr*** on January 12, 2018, the document is dated November 7, 2017, and requires payment be made to avoid foreclosure by December 7, The Plan requires documentation that is current-dated in order to process a hardship withdrawalEmpower has made three attempts to contact Mr*** by phone to assist with completing his transaction request, and has requested the Plan Sponsor reach out to assist on two occasionsTo date, we have not received any communication from Mr***The Plan Sponsor has informed us that Mr*** has separated from service with the *** *** *** ***., on February 6, As such, Mr*** is now eligible to request a full distribution of his account under the terms of the PlanHe may do so by contacting our Participant Service Center and requesting the transaction over the phoneNo supporting documentation is required for a separation from service distribution requestIf Mr*** has additional questions or would like to request a separation from service distribution, he may contact our Service Center at 844-465-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist him Sincerely, Allison RC*** Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Plan Name: *** *** ***, Inc401(k) Plan Plan Number: *** Complaint Number: ***
Thank you for bringing this participant concern to our attentionBy way of background, the plan sponsor of the *** *** ***, Inc401(k) Plan (the Plan) and the *** 401(k) Plan (the *** Plan) directed Empower Retirement to transfer certain participants from the *** Plan into the Plan as part of a corporate transitionAs part of the transfer process, the plan sponsor provided Empower with the list of participants to be transferred to the Plan in two groupingsThe first grouping was provided in September and transferred to the Plan in October 2017, and the second grouping was provided in December and transferred to the Plan in January Ms*** *** was included in the second group provided to Empower in DecemberFor the second group, the transfer of assets took place from the *** Plan to the Plan on December 29, After this transfer, a reconciliation process is performed to ensure all values transferred between the two affected Plans are accurateThis process ended on January 12, 2018, and Ms*** account balance now displays in her Plan accountIf Ms*** has additional questions or concerns regarding the timing of the transfer of her account to the Plan, she should contact *** ***, Plan Administrator, at *** *** ***, IncMs*** can be reached by phone at 703-269-9232, or by email at ***If she has any other questions regarding her Plan account, she may contact our Participant Service Center at 800-338-Participant Service representatives are available weekdays from 8:a.mto 10:p.mEastern time and will be glad to assist her Sincerely, Allison RC*** Manager CorrespondenceEmpower Retirement
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/24) */
Our Participant Services Department phoned *** *** on *** *** *** *** *** had requested a rollover of his funds but completed the paperwork incorrectlyWe sent him a letter notifying him of the errorUnfortunately, his
plan did a De Minimus force out of the funds before he received our letter
Empower Retirement is working with him toward a resolutionWe appreciate *** *** bringing this matter to our attentionPlease let me know if anything further is needed
*** ***, Assistant Manager
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2015/08/31) */
Participant: *** ** *** Plan Number: *** Plan Name:
*** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan Revdex.com ID number: *** Dear Ms***, This letter is in response to your correspondence dated November 10, regarding the distribution of Ms***’s account from *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan (the “Plan”)Thank you for bringing this inquiry to our attention By way of background, Empower Retirement provides non-discretionary recordkeeping services to Plan under a services agreement with the Plan Sponsor and Plan Administrator, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement PlanUnder the terms of the agreement, Empower Retirement is not a Plan fiduciary and is not authorized to make Plan benefit determinations or act with any discretion over the management of the Plan. *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan is the Plan fiduciary and must approve distribution requests before directing Empower Retirement to pay Plan benefits Our records reflect that *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan terminated the Plan on July 17, As part of the Plan termination process, Ms*** provided an election for the distribution of her Plan account where she requested that the Plan pay her $5,from the account as a lump sum and to pay the remaining balance as a direct rollover to an Empower IRAMs***’s distribution election was provided to *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan for its review and approval prior to the Plan termination on July 17, However, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan did not provide its approval for Ms***’s distribution electionOn the date of the Plan’s termination, *** *** *** ***401(k) Retirement Plan directed Empower Retirement to process the distribution of the remaining Plan accounts as a direct rollover to an Empower IRAEmpower Retirement followed the instructions provided by the Plan Sponsor and on July 3, 2017, processed Ms***’s distribution from the Plan as a direct rollover to an Empower IRA established for her benefit We apologize for any inconvenience, but as we have noted, Empower Retirement did not receive approval for Ms***’s distribution election from the Plan fiduciary prior to the Plan termination dateThe distribution of Ms***’s account was paid on the date of the Plan’s termination in accordance with the instructions provided by the Plan fiduciaryOur records reflect that the Plan is now terminated and all Plan benefits have been paidIn response to Ms***’s request, we attempted to contact the Plan fiduciary, but did not receive a responseWe believe the Plan Sponsor is no longer in business. *** ** ***
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