Recommendation

Caution

Overall Summary

Suspicious

Why we think so

empower-retirement.com is the website for Empower Retirement, a major U.S. retirement plan recordkeeper with about 8.6 million monthly visits primarily from the United States. The site employs reputable technologies and security measures, including Akamai and CloudFlare, and holds a valid SSL certificate. Empower manages over $1.4 trillion in assets for roughly 17 million participants and is well-established with no trademark disputes or blacklist flags. However, extensive user reviews and complaints reveal frequent customer service issues, especially delays and difficulties with withdrawals and rollovers. Legal actions allege misleading sales practices around high-fee managed accounts. While not a scam, users should carefully review fees and monitor service quality.

Confidence Score

80%

Risk Insights

⚠️

High Customer Complaint Volume

Frequent delays in withdrawals and rollovers.

Long hold times and inconsistent customer service.

Multiple BBB complaints indicate systemic service issues.

📜

Significant Legal Exposure

Federal lawsuits focus on high-fee managed account sales.

Claims include undisclosed advisor incentives and poor disclosures.

Empower plans to contest these lawsuits vigorously.

🛡️

Strong Domain and Technology Foundation

Established domain with robust hosting and security.

Clean on blacklists and phishing checks.

High global traffic ranking mostly from US users.

Contradictory Signals

The domain’s strong technical and traffic profile contrasts with customer dissatisfaction and legal challenges, suggesting operational issues rather than fraud.

Signal A: High monthly site traffic and solid domain history

Signal B: Persistent customer service complaints and multiple lawsuits

Category Scores

Identity 95/100

Reputation 50/100

Technical 85/100

Content 75/100

Legal 55/100

Business Validity 90/100

Red Flags & Warnings

Multiple lawsuits alleging misleading sales practices and conflicts of interest involving high-fee managed accounts.
Widespread customer complaints about poor customer service, delays, and withdrawal processing problems.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Domain age and registrar check

Score: 90/100

Passed

"No red flags in whois data or domain registration history."

Reason: The domain was created in 2014 and registered through a reputable registrar with stable DNS and no signs of manipulation.

Traffic and popularity check

Score: 85/100

Passed

"Global site rank about 4,634 and within finance category top 20."

Reason: The site averages over 8.6 million monthly visits, mainly from United States users, indicating strong legitimate traffic.

Blacklist and safe browsing check

Score: 90/100

Passed

"Google Safe Browsing and crypto scam blacklists clean."

Reason: No blacklists or phishing warnings registered for this domain.

Customer reviews and reputation

Score: 40/100

Failed

"Recurring complaints about customer support and delays may impact trust substantially."

Reason: Numerous negative reviews report poor customer service, delays, and confusing processes for withdrawals and rollovers.

Legal and compliance status

Score: 50/100

Failed

"Empower denies wrongdoing but legal risks persist."

Reason: Ongoing lawsuits allege misleading sales tactics and undisclosed conflicts of interest relating to fee-heavy investment products.

Your Next Steps

1

Verify which investment products and fee levels apply to your account and compare to low-cost alternatives.
2

Document all communications with customer service and follow up persistently if you experience delays or errors.
3

Monitor your withdrawal and rollover transactions closely to track any issues.
4

Consult with independent financial advisors if unsure about managed account recommendations.
5

Report any suspected fraud or unauthorized activity immediately following Empower’s security protocols.

Evidence & Citations

Customer complaints and reviews for Empower Retirement
Extensive BBB complaints highlight customer service issues and delays with withdrawals and rollovers.
Empower Advisory Group lawsuit details
Federal ERISA lawsuits allege misleading sales practices and conflicts of interest in managed account offerings.
SimilarTech profile for empower-retirement.com
Technical stack and traffic analysis indicate established infrastructure and moderate global rank.
USPTO Trademark Search results
No trademark conflicts found for empower-retirement.

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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