<rant>
My US pension was switched to Empower from Prudential last June and it isn’t anywhere near as good as Prudential. Took a lot of effort to get access in the first place because it insists on a zip code as part of security but only accepts numbers. Eventually got through on the phone and eventually they got me access. My address had not come over from Prudential and when I tried to enter it and selected country UK the field name “zip code” changed to “post code” but would only accept numbers. Another phone call to fix that.
This year no 1099-R available to download (one of the site deficiencies) or arriving by mail (my Prudential one for the first half of the year came as usual). FOUR more phone calls to try and get it, the address was wrong again twice, then told the address is correct and it had been sent but either it was not correct in that particular database or they were not paying the correct postage. No way would they send or make available a pdf, or tell me the details on the form (in particular I need their address and employer id) so I can create a substitute 1099-R. I did contact an ex colleague and she told me the details of the relevant bits on her Empower 1099 and I calculated both what my gross and withholdings would be to create a substitute 1099.
To phone them requires going through verification entering DOB, SSN and ZIPCODE so it takes ages to fail 3 times and get to a person as my post code is a combo of letters and number (no short cut available).
2 days ago my 1099-R arrived in the post with “AIR MAIL” stamped on the envelope in 2 places
<rant over>