Empower Urges IRS to Embrace Blockchain, Tokenization and Smart Contracts to Modernize Retirement Rollovers

Company outlines how emerging technologies could reduce retirement rollover processing times from days to minutes while strengthening fraud prevention and protecting Americans’ retirement savings

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empower, the nation’s second-largest retirement plan provider by total participants, is calling on federal regulators to embrace the potential of blockchain, tokenization and smart contracts to fundamentally modernize how Americans move their retirement savings.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Empower outlined how these technologies could transform the retirement rollover process, potentially reducing transactions that take multiple days to just minutes while bolstering safeguards against fraud.

Responding to IRS Notice 2026-49, issued under Section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, Empower urged regulators to establish a flexible, technology-neutral framework that encourages innovation rather than prescribing additional forms and administrative procedures, as is currently proposed.

“Americans should be able to move their hard-earned retirement savings quickly, securely and with confidence. Blockchain, tokenization and smart contracts have the potential to fundamentally transform a process that takes days into one that could take minutes while strengthening protections against fraud,” said Empower President & CEO Edmund F. Murphy III. “We have an opportunity to move beyond outdated, paper-based processes and build a modern retirement system that puts savers first. By embracing innovation and establishing flexible, technology-neutral standards, we can make retirement rollovers faster, safer and simpler for millions of Americans.”

Blockchain, tokenization and smart contracts: A new approach to retirement rollovers

Empower’s comments outline how emerging financial technologies could work together to create a faster, more secure and more transparent retirement rollover system:

• Blockchain could establish a secure, shared network connecting retirement plan providers and financial institutions, enabling real-time verification of information, transaction tracking and coordinated fraud prevention.
• Tokenization could enable retirement assets or transactions to be represented digitally, facilitating more efficient transfers and settlement between institutions, potentially using regulated, U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins.
• Smart contracts could automate the rollover process, verifying that identity authentication, participant authorization, account validation and other required safeguards are satisfied before retirement assets are transferred.

Together, these technologies could replace fragmented communications, manual paperwork and lengthy processing periods with a coordinated digital process that accelerates transactions while maintaining essential participant protections.

Empower emphasized that blockchain is not the only technology capable of delivering these improvements and urged regulators to adopt standards that accommodate future innovation.

Strengthening security and preventing retirement fraud

Empower also highlighted the potential for blockchain-enabled systems to strengthen fraud prevention across the retirement industry.

A permissioned blockchain network could allow participating institutions to verify identities; authenticate transactions; validate receiving accounts; and maintain a shared, tamper-evident record of retirement asset transfers.

Smart contracts could provide additional protections by automatically preventing transactions from proceeding until required security conditions are satisfied.

This coordinated approach could help reduce vulnerabilities associated with unauthorized rollovers, account takeovers, fraudulent receiving accounts and identity theft.

Empower cautions against additional regulatory complexity

While supporting Treasury and IRS efforts to standardize retirement rollovers, Empower cautioned that the proposed five-step, four-form process could introduce new administrative burdens, increase costs and delay the adoption of digital solutions.

Instead, Empower recommended that regulators:

• Establish technology-neutral standards that support blockchain, tokenization, smart contracts and other innovations.
• Prioritize standardized identity-verification, account-validation and fraud-prevention requirements.
• Encourage secure electronic transfers while preserving appropriate flexibility in existing payment methods.
• Avoid mandating the proposed five-step, four-form process and provide sufficient implementation time for any new requirements.

Why it matters

More than 30 million Americans born between 1959 and 1964 will reach age 65 between 2024 and 2030, creating growing demand for efficient retirement asset transfers. Increased job mobility is also driving the movement of savings between workplace retirement plans and individual retirement accounts.

As the administrator of approximately $2 trillion in assets for more than 22 million investors, Empower believes modernizing the rollover system represents a significant opportunity to improve the retirement experience while protecting Americans’ financial futures.

About Empower

Recognized as a leader in retirement services and wealth management,¹ Empower administers more than $2.1 trillion in assets² for more than 20 million individuals through the provision of workplace and individual retirement plans, advice, financial planning and investments. Connect with us on empower.com, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram.

1. Pensions & Investments DC Recordkeeper Survey (2025). Ranking measured by total number of participants as of December 31, 2025.
2. As of June 30, 2026. Information refers to all retirement business of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (EAICA) and its subsidiaries, including Empower Retirement, LLC; Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York (ELAINY); and Empower Annuity Insurance Company (EAIC), marketed under the Empower brand. Assets under Administration (AUA) refers to the assets administered by Empower. AUA does not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company.

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

The information contained herein is being provided for discussion purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. All visuals are illustrative only.

©2026 Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America. All rights reserved. WF-7265800-1026 RO-6053800-1026

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To learn more about how we’re empowering plan sponsors and their participants to be more engaged in their retirement plans than ever before, call us at 800-719-9914.