How to Fill Out and Submit the Empower RMD Request Form

Empower’s RMD request form is the document you submit to withdraw your required minimum distribution from an employer-sponsored retirement plan serviced by Empower. You enter your plan and account details, choose how much to withdraw, set federal and state tax withholding, and tell Empower where to send the money. You can submit the completed form online through the participant portal, by fax, or by mail.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull a recent quarterly statement and locate three items: your Plan ID number, your Social Security Number, and the specific account number for the plan you’re drawing from. If you hold assets in more than one investment sub-account under the same plan, the distribution comes out of whichever account you list, so confirm you have the right one.

If you don’t know your RMD amount, Empower’s plan service center will calculate it for you. The number changes every year because it’s based on your prior year-end balance divided by an IRS life expectancy factor tied to your current age. You can reach the service center at (855) 756-4738.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Personal and Plan Information

The top of the form asks for your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security Number, mailing address, Plan ID, and account number. Match these exactly to what appears on your statement. A mismatched account number is one of the most common reasons Empower rejects a form and asks you to resubmit.

Distribution Amount

You’ll choose between receiving your total annual RMD or entering a specific dollar amount. A specific amount must be at least as large as the RMD Empower calculates for your account that year. You can always take more than the minimum, but the RMD portion itself cannot be rolled over into another tax-deferred account. Only amounts above the minimum are rollover-eligible.

You need to submit a new form each year. The prior year-end balance and the IRS divisor both change annually, so last year’s amount won’t satisfy this year’s requirement.

Tax Withholding

RMDs are nonperiodic payments, and the default federal income tax withholding is 10%. You can raise or lower that rate, from 0% up to 100%, by completing IRS Form W-4R.1Internal Revenue Service. Pensions and Annuity Withholding Empower may fold the W-4R fields into its distribution paperwork or accept the IRS form as an attachment. If you don’t file a W-4R, or if you don’t provide a valid Social Security Number, Empower must withhold 10% and cannot honor a request for a lower rate.2Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4R, Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions

State withholding depends on where you live. Some states require mandatory withholding that tracks your federal election; others let you opt out. The form has a field for your state preference. If your other income pushes you into a higher bracket, consider withholding more than the minimum so you’re not caught short at filing time.

Payment Method

Two options. For direct deposit through ACH, enter your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your checking or savings account number. For a paper check, verify that the mailing address Empower has on file is current, because a stale address turns into a lost check and a slow reissue.

Sign and date the form. Your signature authorizes the distribution. Some plans — particularly defined-benefit pensions and money-purchase plans — require spousal consent for certain distributions, so check your plan’s rules before submitting.

How to Submit the Form

Empower accepts the completed form through three channels:

If your deadline is close, don’t mail. Upload or fax. Once Empower receives the form, a pending transaction should appear on your online dashboard.

What Happens After You Submit

Empower reviews the form for completeness and then processes the distribution. Direct deposits through ACH are typically received by the destination bank within one to two business days from the processing date, and your bank may need another day or two to release the funds.5Empower Personal Dashboard Support. How Long Does It Take to Transfer Funds Into and Out of My Account? Paper checks by standard mail take longer. Empower offers expedited check delivery for an additional fee.6Empower. Withdrawal Processing Overview

You’ll get a confirmation notification when the distribution is approved and the funds are in transit, and you can track status in the activity section of your online account. If the form has a problem — missing signature, wrong account number, incomplete withholding election — Empower rejects it and you resubmit. That costs you time you may not have if a December 31 deadline is approaching, so fill out every field completely the first time.

Key Deadlines and What Happens If You Miss One

RMDs generally start in the year you turn 73.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs Your very first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the following year, but your second RMD is still due by December 31 of that same year, so two taxable distributions land in one tax year if you use the grace period. After the first year, every RMD is due by December 31.

If you miss the deadline or take too little, the IRS imposes a 25% excise tax on the shortfall. That drops to 10% if you correct the shortfall within a correction window that runs from the RMD due date through the end of the second tax year after the year you missed.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans

If you did miss one, take the missed distribution right away by submitting a form for the shortfall. Then request a waiver of the excise tax by filing IRS Form 5329 for the year you missed. On the dotted line next to line 54, write “RC” and the shortfall amount in parentheses, then enter the reduced amount on line 54. Attach a letter explaining the reason — serious illness, family emergency, or an administrative error by the plan are commonly accepted causes. Do not file an amended 1040. Form 5329 stands on its own.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329 (2025)

If You Inherited the Account

Beneficiaries use the same Empower distribution form infrastructure, but the rules driving how much and how often you withdraw are different. You’ll need to confirm your beneficiary status and may need to provide a death certificate or other documentation before Empower will process a distribution. Call (855) 756-4738 to get the specific paperwork your plan requires for a beneficiary claim.