Empower 401K Downloads
Answers
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Had similar issues and wrote Empower. No indication for resolving the issue. Back in November, my employer/Empower changed our 401k funds. This seems to correlate with when folks were initially noticing the QFX file generation/download problem. In my inquiry, I noted that " I hope it hasn't been removed, it certainly makes for lots of extra bookkeeping for a function that is pretty much universally provided." I wonder if other financial apps are having similar issues with Empower. Their response from 25 Jan 2023, below. It is similar to jk_hart's reply, but removal of a timeframe for a solution.
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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.
In the meantime, you may select "All Transactions" from the "Overview" drop down at the top of the screen. From there, click the CSV link to the right of the search box. Quicken does not allow CSV file uploads, but this is a viable option to see all information in one place for a brief period of time.
Please note, this work around does not allow Quicken to automatically download transactions to Empower. Currently, we do not have an exact timeframe of when the automatic download feature will be restored.
We hope this information is helpful. If we may be of further assistance, please contact Empower at 1-800-338-4015. Participant Service Center representatives are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 6a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mountain time.
Sincerely,
Empower0 -
where is the CSV link to the right of the search box? does anyone see it? I can't find it...to the right of the seach is a 'date' drop down box!?!?!??!0
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Look for Search Transactions ....then all the way to the right, there is a small icon with CSV written on it. BUT, it is useless. It just provides a list of transactions by date and amount. No information on WHAT investment, number of shares, etc. USELESS !0
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anyone have any additional updates? this is frustrating as hell. if I wasn't forced to use empower by my employer, I wouldn't. I might do a transfer into an IRA but it still doesn't solve the problem of all my missing txns and future txns from payroll deductions.2
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I spoke with Empower support via a chat session this morning and got the following answer:
Thank you! 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.
However, in the meantime, you may select "All Transactions" from the "Overview" drop down at the top of the screen. From there, click the CSV link to the right of the search box. Quicken does not allow CSV file uploads, but this is a viable option to see all information in one place for a brief period of time.
Please note, this work around does not allow Quicken to automatically download transactions from Empower.
At this time, we do not have an exact timeframe of when the automatic download feature will be restored.0 -
And…. that downloaded CSV file is really useless, even if you wanted to manually key in your transactions from it.
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They pretty much acknowledge that the CSV is useless in the message. I was hoping to get a useful response with an ETA for a fix, but I got this message instead.1
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Just ran across this problem as well. Hoping that Empower can get their developers to fix the problem.0
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I'm not holding my breath... it seems inconceivable that it's taken 5 months and we're still not at a resolution0
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Seems as something just only "broken" shouldn't take so long to "fix". I noticed my files not able to update using QFX, since last May/June.
Now maybe try a new approach to this situation; Empower and Quicken should try like working together to utilize how Quicken uses Direct Connect or Express Web connect or whatever Quicken calls them, to connect to institutions as with most others. Make the process even more transparent, - come on man!0 -
Customer experience is obviously not a priority at Empower. They only have to please the corporate decision maker, who probably doesn't use Quicken. In my employer's case, I bet they were selected due to cost.0
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@sdl - when I talked to Empower managment in December, they stated that this was targeted to be fixed by the end of 1Q23. So let's give them some additional slack.
At the time, what I was told is that they unintentionally broke the Quicken back end during an enhancement cycle that occured in late November.
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I'm a software developer with over 44 years experience. We unintentionally break software often. But, we are not allowed to leave it unfixed for several months, especially for an existing feature. This clearly shows Empower does not care or is grossly incompetent.1
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I fortunately turn 59 1/2 this month which then allows transfers from my company 401K to an IRA so at least I can take away fees from Empower. Unfortunately, new contributions will go into my 401K, so I still have the hassle of manual entry.
I am surprised that no one with Quicken has added comments in this thread on their efforts to pressure Empower to fix this. They should be making daily requests for updates to Empower and making sure Empower is monitoring this discussion. I suspect Empower has no intention of fixing this problem given the number of months that have passed.0 -
Same. Wrote my first code in ‘72. I find Empower’s lack of attention to this appalling.
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As I worked with software development in the healthcare field for 25+ years, I agree with the other software developers, Eric and Don, (&Scott's comment) this should've been addressed quicker. This was not acceptable when working on EHRs for health systems.0
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> @Eric said:
> We unintentionally break software often.
Why assume this is unintentional? The fact that they removed the link suggests perhaps it was intentional. I don't pretend to know one way or the other, but they recently acquired Personal Capital which could be argued is a Quicken competitor. Perhaps they have no intention of bringing Quicken export back.
My employer uses Benefit Wallet for managing HSA accounts and they don't have a Quicken export either.1 -
because @mark1104 said they claimed? They also claimed that they removed the link so we won't get the error message. Don't get me started on BW. They do our HSA and they are worse.
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When companies make strategic decisions, they don't always inform their lower-level employees. Just throwing out the possibility that support is telling people what the company wants them to tell, but they may have no intention of fixing this.-1
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I think that Quicken is dying. Which is bad on its own. I also don't think there is a replacement out there either; which is separately bad. I don't know another place to pull everything together all at once.-1
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You think Quicken is dying because of an issue that Empower has and has claimed responsibility for? Why is that?
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R59.10 on Windows 11
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Just some speculation on my part: Empower purchased several different financial institutions over the last couple of years and has been slowly integrating the customer accounts into the Empower system. Could it be that Empower's contract for previous website support expired a while back and that they decided to not expend any resources to set up DC support and instead focus on setting up only EWC+ support? Financial Institutions that are transitioning from DC to EWC+ will end up discontinuing support for DC once EWC+ support is available so to expend capital and resources setting up DC would be an unnecessary expense….even knowing that Quicken users would be deprived of Quicken support for a while until EWC+ could be implemented.
As I said, it's all just speculation but IMO that would be a very logical strategic and tactical approach for them to take. They will never admit that to anyone outside of Empower but I really would not be surprised if that is the root cause of this connection issue with Empower. And I'm betting that when Empower does get Quicken support implemented, again, it will be for EWC+.
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R59.10 on Windows 11
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> @Boatnmaniac
Makes a great deal of sense and you may well be right. But I fail to understand why the couldn't have kept the QFX download option available. A bit more work than some sort of direct connection but I was at least able to get my data into Quicken.0 -
DC was only ever available for certain types of Empower users I believe. I just have a 401K there and I was never able to get DC, always had to use QFX and a manual import to Quicken. Sux that both of these seem to be broken now.
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Well, if my assumption is correct about how previously downloads from Empower were not really from the Empower system but from a mapping to the previous financial institution's system and that downloads stopped when Empower migrated the customer accounts to their own system, then I think it is pretty clear why the Web Connect (manual QFX downloads) option was also discontinued. If the Empower system is not set up for one Quicken connection method (DC) then it would, IMO, follow that it would also not be set up for any other connection method (such as WC). In both cases, Empower would need to be set set up new for any and all connection methods Empower wants to support because none of those methods previously existed in Empower's own system.
Again, it's all speculation. What I do know is that the only set up link for Empower in the FIDIR list (the list that tells Quicken which financial institutions are supported, which types of accounts are supported and which connection methods are supported) is as follows:
69265 69265 69265 Empower Retirement https://www.massmutual.com/ 1-800-767-1000 https://accounts.massmutual.com/login?client=Momwi9VjwihM4TKFn3XWaoH2xAQd3Z6T&protocol=samlp&tenant=accounts-auth0#bookmark ACTIVE NOT_QBP NA
Note that it points to the old Mass Mutual website, not the Empower website. Also, note that there is no connection method nor any types of accounts included in this listing so that means nothing can be downloaded from the Mass Mutual website anymore even if that site was still actively working.
Until the Empower website gets added to the FIDIR list there can be no download from Empower, regardless of connection method. Empower must work with Intuit to get added to the FIDIR list and if they have been telling the truth it is implied that they are working with Intuit to get added to the FIDIR list by about the end of Q1 (later this month).
Hopefully, whatever connection method(s) get set up and implemented by Empower will provide transactions downloads history going back far enough so all the missing transactions will download when the setup is first initiated.
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R59.10 on Windows 11
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FYI, it appears that Empower is not going to be bringing back WC per this Announcement:
I find it interesting that there is nothing stated in there about other connection method(s) that Empower might be still working to implement, such as EWC+. Some other financial institutions that have migrated to EWC+ have discontinued support for not only DC and EWC but also WC.
It would be helpful if those of you who have established communications contact(s) at Empower could perhaps reach out to them to find out more.
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R59.10 on Windows 11
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@Boatnmaniac If they said they're not going to support third party aggregators, that rules out EWC and EWC+. And if they're not going to provide QFX downloads either, then that only leaves Direct Connect which it appears they never supported in the first place. So that's that.
I guess people could jump through the necessary hoops to use one of the CSV to QFX converters out there. Sadly, moving their 401K account isn't an option for most folks who are still employed. Early retirees who qualify to make penalty free withdrawals under the age 55 rule won't want to move either.
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Guys - I have been comunicating via email with the OOP since this past Friday related to Empower. Their “Customer to Quicken” product team has been attempting to get an answer out of Empower. Beacuse of that, I took the Moderator post to mean ‘everything was dead’ and not that there was any expectation of an alternative connection method.
I received an email from my contact at Quicken overnight stating that Quicken posted that Announcement as it has been unable to get any sort of response from its counterparts at Empoiwer. So we are all ‘stuck’ in the same place since late November with no path forward until Empower changes its messaging,
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Sounds like its time to roll over my previous employer's 401K out of Empower. What bugs me the most is that even as they messed up my distributions last October, they kept trying me to use their consolidator service every time I tried to get them to straighten out some serious distribution errors. You couldn't pay me enough to give this incompetent organization any more of my financial information than they already have. They are a breach or ransom atack waiting to happen….
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from a different Empower thread:
here is the latest:
I called the Empower executive team and after leaving VM, they called back within an hour! very responsive!
here is the mesage they left me:
“we are on track to have a fix late April / early May and we are committing to fixing the issue. The dates may slip if we end up with an unexpected problem. It has taken us longer than we anticipated”
well, at least there is a commitment to a date / timeframe verus some vague “we don't know” messaging.
this is the phone number I called from their auto-response:
“Should an escalated issue arise requiring the prompt attention of our Participant Services leadership team, please call us at 1-844-804-8989”
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