Empower Renames to Bolster Engagement With Customers

As company enhances financial wellness offering, brand name evolves

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empower today unveiled its initial steps toward a fresh brand identity aimed at simplifying how the organization connects with customers.

The name “Empower” will replace “Empower Retirement” as the company’s public-facing brand name. The new mark is a positive development reflecting Empower’s broadening stature and rapid growth. The change is effective immediately.

“Today we help people achieve short- and long-term financial goals on their path to a successful retirement,” said Empower president and CEO Edmund F. Murphy III. "Ultimately, our mission is about helping people achieve financial wellness, and the name Empower captures the essence of what we do.”

Empower’s expanding retirement business, which as of Sept. 30, 2021, served the needs of some 71,000 corporate, government and not-for-profit workplace retirement plans, recorded $100 billion in new organic sales last year.

Empower acquired the MassMutual retirement business in 2020 and last year announced its intention to purchase the full-service retirement business of Prudential. In 2020 the firm acquired Personal Capital, a wealth manager offering advice through both in-person and digital interfaces.

Transitioning to “Empower” and eliminating “retirement” is a strategic approach to elevate the firm’s brand as it continues to develop its offer, increase visibility to more individuals and expand its focus to include financial wellness. Since its inception in 2014, Empower has used the shorter name in advertising, marketing and some public communications. In 2019 the firm purchased the naming rights to the Denver Broncos’ stadium, which is now called “Empower Field at Mile High.”

In addition, the simplified name allows Empower to employ the “empower.com” domain, which makes it easier for customers to find and interact with the company’s web properties.

Last fall Empower began delivering the new Empower savings experience to participants in its retirement plans. The enhanced Empower participant website features a highly personalized digital experience that can integrate multiple elements of an individual’s financial picture to help them better understand their current situation and future needs, driving increased financial confidence.

Empower chief marketing officer Steve Jenks said: “Part of our brand promise has been about creating simplicity out of complexity and being easy to work with. Our new name captures that.”

Empower will be the public-facing name of the company, and the Empower Retirement, LLC name will remain the name of the underlying legal entity to maintain consistency of existing contracts and agreements.

About Empower
Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower administers approximately $1.1 trillion in assets¹ for more than 12.6 million retirement plan participants and is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by total participants.² 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.

1

As of Sept. 30, 2021. Information refers to the business of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, including Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York and GWFS Equities, Inc. GWLA’s consolidated total assets under administration (AUA) were $1.125B. AUA is a non-GAAP measure and does not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company. GWLA’s statutory assets total $76.1B and liabilities total $73.1B. GWLANY statutory assets total $4.2B and liabilities total $3.3B.

2

Pension & Investments 2020 Defined Contribution Survey Ranking as of April 2021.

Securities, when presented, are offered and/or distributed by GWFS Equities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. GWFS is an affiliate of Empower Retirement, LLC; Great-West Funds, Inc.; and registered investment adviser, Advised Assets Group, LLC. This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide investment, legal or tax recommendations or advice.