Empower 401K Downloads

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24

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  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
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    just received this email from Empower as a respond to my inquiry back on Monday: 

    "Currently, the Quicken QFX feature is not available on our website. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

    Our web development specialists were made aware of a technical issue regarding the Quicken QFX feature and are working to correct it.

    As a result, the Quicken QFX feature has been made temporarily unavailable.

    Please note, access is expected to be restored at some point in the first quarter of 2023.

    We hope this information is helpful. If we may be of further assistance, please contact Empower at 1-866-247-0970. Participant Service Center representatives are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mountain time."


  • xpmurph48
    xpmurph48 Member ✭✭
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    I keep responding to the email that I have going about this issue. I have let them know that this is a showstopper as they have no workaround. The middle of q1 of 2023 is not good either as that would be about 6 paychecks and transactions that I would manually enter. I asked if in the meantime they could give us another way to download transactions via excel. Because scraping the webpage and inputting it into excel takes time too.
  • xpmurph48
    xpmurph48 Member ✭✭
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    Update, I have to first scrap, then use notepad++ and then import into excel. UGH
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Does Empower have the capability of downloading transactions in CSV, Excel or OFX (MS Money...not to be confused with Quicken's QFX) formats?   

    If so, you might to download transactions in one of those formats and then try converting the file into a QIF format that Quicken can then import.  A good and totally free (with no ads) converter program is ImportQIF which can be read up on and downloaded from https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/.  The guy who developed this program and owns the website is a long time expert Quicken user who is still very active in this Community.  I have not used it myself but there are quite a few users, including other SUs, who have posted that it works quite well.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R55.15 on Windows 11)

  • Zack Howell
    Zack Howell Member ✭✭
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    Interestingly, a quick Google search will reveal that there is no "Karen Jones, VP of Participant Services" listed for Empower anywhere. Slightly concerning?

    > @Mark1104 said:
    > this is on the Empower website..maybe we all need to call :"Karen"? 
    >
    > -= Participant_services@empower-retirement.com
    > *Please do not put any confidential or personal account information in an email request. If you need to send us confidential information, please upload your documents.
    > Should an escalated issue arise requiring the prompt attention of Karen Jones, Vice President of Participant Services, please call her at 1-844-804-8989 or write to Karen at:
    > Empower Retirement8515 E. Orchard Rd.Greenwood Village, CO 80111
  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
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    @Zack Howell - doesn't matter; I talked to a manager at that phone number and received the response in my post above.   this won't be fixed until the middle of 1Q23
  • Dave-in-Kalamazoo
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    > @henryleigh said:
    > I have been trying to download recent transactions and security prices to Quicken using the "Quicken QFX" option in the transaction sections of the Empower 401K Plan.
    > However, this option is not working. A message saying there are no transactions available, or the app just sits "thinking" is all I get.
    > I know there are transactions available that I would like to download and/or security prices.
    >

    I observed today that the "Quicken QFX" option" to start the download is no longer present on the transactions page of the website.
  • NorCal geek
    NorCal geek Member ✭✭
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    As of Dec 20, they completely removed the Download option from the website.
  • bufit323
    bufit323 Member ✭✭
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    just noticed the same on our retirement account. The link to download isn't even present any longer, let alone working.
  • jk_hart
    jk_hart Member ✭✭
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    This is what Empower sent me:

    "Thank you for your email.

    Currently, the Quicken QFX feature is not available on our website. We
    apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

    Our web development specialists were made aware of a technical issue
    regarding the Quicken QFX feature and are working to correct it. As a
    result, the Quicken QFX feature has been made temporarily unavailable.

    Please note, access is expected to be restored at some point in the
    first quarter of 2023.

    We hope this information is helpful. If we may be of further assistance,
    please contact Empower at 1-888-411-4015. Participant Service Center
    representatives are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 6
    a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mountain time.

    "
  • JROD9398
    JROD9398 Member
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    For all the grief over Twitter, this is where you can make your voice heard with some critiques of Empower and this issue. Works for me when I have customer service issues with other companies that aren't responsive.
  • DavidNewYork
    DavidNewYork Member ✭✭
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    > @caramel said:
    > Hoping they actually intend to fix it; I've seen this sort of thing serve as a stalling tactic while an institution figures out how to say it no longer supports Quicken downloads at all.

    Yep, this is a very real concern.
  • Rolando Cabrera Jr
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    Same issue here. Long time Quicken (and via my company also Empower 401k captive). I've been using this feature for a long time and hoping it gets sorted out soon.
  • sdl
    sdl Member ✭✭
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    It's interesting that Empower wants users to add your other accounts into their site to interface with so one(and they) can analyze a composite portfolio, but they are now hesitant to reciprocate back? "Come on man!"
  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
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    @sdl - it is not a 'hessitation' - read the entire thread - technology bug introduced inadvertantly.  Expected to be fixed by the end of March.  (I actually talked to a Empower Mgr) 
  • sdl
    sdl Member ✭✭
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    Oh I've read entire thread and heard they'll fix in 1st quarter 2023. But I noticed Empower QFX code broke easily back, in mid 2022. When code/functionilty breaks, " inadvertently" , you fix it as soon as you can. Thanks.
  • davidw.ramsey62
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    I actually just moved everything over from Fidelity, the reason being my new job has the retirement 401 under Empower. I did not have to consolidate but Empower recommended it. Shortly after moving this happens and now blind the transactions in my own account. Yes, I can manually enter everything, but why would I want to step back to 20 years ago and do this manually? Empower needs to fix their problem, and even think about entering this era and supporting the automatic update function of quicken.
  • Runsilent13
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    I appreciate having this forum since I couldn't find the QFX download link on the Empower website. I looked all over and finally did a search to determine the issue. Let's hope this is resolved in the 1st Quarter as mentioned.
  • bufit323
    bufit323 Member ✭✭
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    has anyone heard anything more recently?
  • jkunst830
    jkunst830 Member ✭✭
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    Just found this thread while looking for the download button. I thought I was going crazy when I couldn't find it after using it before.
  • Don Bartenstein
    Don Bartenstein Member ✭✭✭✭
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    bufit323 said:
    has anyone heard anything more recently?
    <crickets>....
  • CoffeeInput
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    I called Empower today and spoke with 'Elise'. She confirmed Empower Retirement is working on the issue. She said there is no time line for a fix.
  • bsantelli
    bsantelli Member ✭✭
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    Following. Unacceptable to take this long to fix a MAJOR issue like this. I wouldn't be using empower if my employer isn't forcing me to for my 401K.
  • Don Bartenstein
    Don Bartenstein Member ✭✭✭✭
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    bsantelli said:
    Following. Unacceptable to take this long to fix a MAJOR issue like this. I wouldn't be using empower if my employer isn't forcing me to for my 401K.
    Same... 
  • Eric
    Eric Member ✭✭✭
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    > @Don Bartenstein said:
    > Same... 

    Same… I rollover all available to my IRA often.
  • Mark1104
    Mark1104 Member ✭✭✭✭
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    I guess Empower is the final arbitrater of what is a MAJOR issue.  While we don't know, they may have other customer related issues or compliance related issues that trump this one.  They stated back in November / December that it would be resolved in the 1st quarter.  They set expecatations (rightly or wrongly) at that time, so I am going to give them some rope here. (not that I have a lot of leverage) 
  • jsurpless
    jsurpless Member ✭✭
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    Empower's behavior is simple inexcusable. My company switched to them about 6 months ago and I've been nothing but disappointed with them... all Empower says is that we offer our own aggregation tools so you don't need Quicken which is a load of nonsense. All these web-based aggregation tools are extremely limited when compared to Quicken
  • Eric
    Eric Member ✭✭✭
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    I assume my employer picked them based on cost and not performance.
  • jk_hart
    jk_hart Member ✭✭
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    I wonder how many Quicken users are left, especially after the buyout and sebsequent jump to a subscription based model. I just got an Apple Credit card, no Quicken intergration offered or planned. Empower may never fix this as there just may not be a big enough demand. I think Quicken financial software is the best but I also feel I'm on a sinking ship...
  • Eric
    Eric Member ✭✭✭
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    At least for Apple credit card, there is a way to get a .qfx file for each statement.
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253857699?answerId=257236023022#257236023022
This discussion has been closed.