Empower Transition

NDPERS is committed to providing retirement plans that reflect industry best practices. After a comprehensive selection process and thorough evaluation of vendors, the NDPERS Board chose Empower as a company that offered the best fit for our plans. This change is designed to strengthen the plans, provide new plan enhancements, and help you pursue your retirement saving goals more effectively.

To help ensure an accurate transfer of assets and records, there will be a blackout period from June 18, 2024, to no later than July 3, 2024, during which you will not have access to perform transactions in your current account. This “blackout period” is a normal occurrence when plans change recordkeepers. Payroll deductions and any employer contributions will continue during the blackout period and will be reflected in your account when the blackout is complete.

The notice you receive in May will outline all the key dates and any time frames you will not have access to your account during the transition from TIAA to Empower.

Note: If active members are completing a service purchase transfer or inactive members are requesting a distribution during the blackout period, NDPERS will hold the paperwork and submit it to Empower to be processed once the plans are live no later than July 3, 2024.

Yes, changing our retirement plans’ recordkeeper means that you will log into a new website, and call a new service center (the Empower Customer Care Center), to view/access your account balance and contributions, change your investment elections, or request a distribution.

Once the transition is complete, no later than July 3, 2024, you should log in to your account at empowermyretirement.com. Registering your account helps safeguard it online, ensures you receive timely account updates, provides convenient online account management, and gives you the opportunity to explore new tools and resources at Empower. When you log in to your account for the first time, you will be prompted to create a username and password and complete multifactor authentication security steps.

If you have a beneficiary election on file for the NDPERS Deferred Compensation 457(b) Companion Plan, that election will transfer to Empower. After the Plan is live, you can add or update your beneficiary(ies) at empowermyretirement.com. 

If you have a beneficiary on file for the NDPERS Defined Contribution 401(a) Plan, that election will not transfer to Empower. You can add, change, or update your beneficiary(ies) for this Plan with NDPERS using the Designation of Beneficiary for the Group Retirement Plan SFN 2560 and returning to NDPERS per the instructions on the form. 

We encourage you to periodically verify your beneficiary designation to be sure that it reflects your current wishes. 

As part of your move to Empower: 

• Some funds will transfer in kind, meaning they will remain invested in the same funds as your current elections;
• Some funds will liquidate and transfer to funds with similar investment objectives; and 
• Some funds that do not have a fund with a similar investment objective in the new lineup will liquidate and transfer to an age-appropriate (estimated retirement at age 65) target date fund based on your date of birth. 

Once the transfer is complete (and the blackout period has ended), you may transfer your account balance to any of the funds available in the NDPERS 457(b) and/or 401(a) plans. Refer to the transition notice being mailed to your address on file in May for detailed information on how your investments will transfer. 

If you have an existing W-4P-eligible installment, an update is required. To comply with IRS regulations, Empower will update your federal income tax withholdings on your periodic payments to the IRS default withholding rate of single with no adjustments (regardless of your marital status). This change will occur upon the conversion of your account balance to Empower and will be effective on payments that you receive after the conversion. To make income tax-withholding elections other than the default withholding, complete and return the updated IRS Form W-4P to Empower after the plans are out of blackout no later than July 3, 2024.

You can download the form by visiting irs.gov, typing "W-4P Form" into the search bar, and then clicking on the corresponding PDF link. Mail the form to: Empower, ATTN 401(k) Department, PO Box 173764, Denver, CO 80217-3764. You can also upload the form to the participant website after the plans are live at empowermyretirement.com. For additional information about the impacts this form will have on income tax-withholding elections, refer to the 2024 IRS Publication 15-T or consult your tax advisor. 

Any periodic payments that are scheduled to be paid during the blackout will be paid out no later than June 17, 2024, before the two NDPERS retirement plans transfer to Empower. 

You can call Empower’s Customer Care Center at 866-816-4400. Representatives are available by phone weekdays from 7 am to 9 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 4:30 pm CT.

Prior to the end of blackout (before the plans go live), Customer Care Center representatives will only be able to answer questions about key dates, including whether or not the plans are in blackout. Reference the plan numbers when calling with questions: 100455-01 for the 457(b) Companion Plan and 100456-01 for the 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan.  

Once the plans are live no later than July 3, 2024, representatives will be able to assist with all transactions and answer all account-specific questions.

For after-hours services, you can use Empower’s voice response system at 866-816-4400. The voice response system and website are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.