Products April 2, 2020

Empower Waives Loan and Hardship Withdrawal Fees

The fee waiver will remain in place until further notice, depending on circumstances in the economy and financial markets.

Reported by

Empower Retirement is waiving fees on all new retirement plan loans and hardship withdrawals to support the financial needs of American retirement investors resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak and the related fallout in the economy.

Empower will not charge origination fees on any new plan loans and will suspend charges for all hardship withdrawals. These changes cover all tax-qualified workplace retirement plans administered by Empower that permit such distributions and include new provisions allowed for under the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

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“We must do everything we can to accommodate the immediate financial needs of our customers,” says Empower Retirement President and CEO Edmund F. Murphy III. “Some are already in financial distress right now and need access to their retirement savings to support their loved ones. We are taking these steps to help those families.”

The fee waiver will remain in place until further notice, depending on circumstances in the economy and financial markets.

The company has also bolstered all call center capacity and elevated the availability of one-on-one counseling sessions to meet the needs of retirement investors seeking advice.

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