Products February 2, 2022

Recordkeeper Empower Retirement Announces Name Change

The change, which will see the word ‘Retirement’ dropped from the recordkeeper’s name, represents the company’s efforts to enhance its overall financial wellness offerings.

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The nation’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper announced Tuesday that it’s made a change to its public-facing brand name, moving from “Empower Retirement” to just “Empower,” effective immediately.

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The company says the change reflects its broadening stature and rapid growth.

As people begin to look at saving for retirement and determining how much they need to save, they make those decisions while keeping their current financial wellness in mind, Steve Jenks, Empower chief marketing officer, tells PLANADVISER. A big part of what the company does is help people achieve their short- and long-term financial goals, he says, and the name update to Empower helps capture that.

Transitioning to Empower and eliminating “Retirement” is a strategic decision meant to elevate the firm’s brand as it continues to develop its offerings, Jenks adds. He expects the name change will help increase the firm’s visibility among individual investors and demonstrate its expanding focus on financial wellness solutions. Notably, since the brand’s inception in 2014, Empower has often used the shorter name in advertising, marketing and some public communications.

Context for the name change comes from Empower’s 2020 acquisition of Personal Capital, a wealth manager offering advice through both in-person and digital interfaces. Additionally, the firm acquired the MassMutual retirement business in 2020 and announced its intention last year to purchase the full-service retirement business of Prudential Financial Inc.

Together, those transactions were expected to increase Empower’s participant base to some 16.6 million people and its retirement services recordkeeping assets to approximately $1.4 trillion administered on behalf of approximately 71,000 workplace savings plans.

Jenks points to the recently enhanced Empower participant website as an example of how the firm is doubling down on both short-term and long-term services for its clients. The 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.

Moving forward, 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, in order to maintain consistency of existing contracts and agreements.

Data & Research February 2, 2022

Americans Focused on Financial Security and Planning

A New AIG Life & Retirement study shows respondents are focused on long-term financial planning, with many intending to seek help from a financial professional during 2022.

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In a recently released study, AIG Life & Retirement suggests more individuals than ever are now thinking critically about how future events could affect their finances.

According to the study, “Americans Moving Forward,” more than half of survey respondents say long-term financial planning has become more important (58%) and that they intend to save more (56%) and pay more attention to how they spend and manage their money (55%) than in the past.

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AIG says Americans recognize the need to act on creating financial security and protecting against financial uncertainty. Respondents’ top financial priorities include the need to increase or begin saving for retirement (66%), to pay off debt (65%), to start or grow an emergency fund (63%) and to engage in better financial planning (63%).

The study shows that many Americans remain concerned about future uncertainties, pointing to health care costs in retirement (80%), a loss of independence in later life (80%), the availability of Social Security (77%) and running out of money in retirement (74%) as top concerns.

More than nine in 10 (91%) respondents view financial products that provide income for life in retirement as valuable, with 34% saying they are very valuable, AIG says. There is also strong interest in life insurance, with 43% saying it has become more important for them to get or increase life insurance.

Importantly, AIG says, more than two-thirds of respondents (70%) say they want to work with a financial professional in the next year, and 58% of those who already have a financial professional say they intend to work together more closely with that professional moving forward.

“Having a financial professional at your side is essential to building a secure and bright future,” says Terri Fiedler, AIG Financial Distributors president and CEO. “We are proud to work with so many financial professionals who help make it possible for more people to achieve financial and retirement security.”

The study found that women were less likely than men to report recent financial improvement. While 41% of men say their financial situation has improved over the previous year, the same holds true for only 26% of women.

This gender gap extends across several categories, AIG says. This includes retirement readiness, with only 18% of women reporting an improvement, compared with 41% of men. The category of household employment income saw only 24% of women report improvement, compared with 39% of men. Woman who reported improvement in the level of assets/savings clocked in at 28%, compared with 49% of men. Finally, 32% of women, compared with 48% of men, reported improvements in their ability to save.

“Women have made strides to narrow the gender gap in business, education and politics, but financial challenges persist,” Fiedler says. “Our industry must work together to make it possible for more women to achieve financial and retirement security.”

The study finds Millennials are the most optimistic generation. Nearly half of Millennials (48%) say their quality of life is better or much better than it was in the previous year, compared with 38% of Generation X and 22% of Baby Boomers.

When asked about their financial well-being, 42% of Millennials say their financial situation is better or much better than in the previous year, compared with 35% of Gen Xers and only 18% of Baby Boomers.

Millennials are also more likely to report improvement in the following areas:

  • Ability to save – 53% for Millennials, 38% for Gen X, 21% for Baby Boomers;
  • Career – 50% for Millennials, 36% for Gen X, 10% for Baby Boomers;
  • Level of assets/savings – 48% Millennials, 36% Gen X, 26% Baby Boomers;
  • Household employment income – 44% Millennials, 31% Gen X, 13% Baby Boomers; and
  • Non-mortgage debt – 39% Millennials, 24% Gen X, 12% Baby Boomers.

The AIG Life & Retirement “Americans Moving Forward” survey was completed by Greenwald Research in July and included 1,003 respondents.

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