Page 490 - DCAC Feb 2026 Files

January 9, 2026

To our partners at San Mateo County,

As 2026 begins, I want to thank you for your continued partnership with Empower. Together, we’ve made
meaningful strides in helping the San Mateo County participants build lasting financial confidence. We truly
value our relationship with the County, and we look forward to achieving even more together in the year
ahead.

Empower’s ongoing commitment to service and innovation continues to drive results. We’re proud to have once
again achieved a “world class” Net Promoter Score of 81, reflecting the trust and confidence you have placed
in us. Our continued growth has been fueled by strong client partnerships like yours, which is a testament to our
shared commitment of improving financial outcomes for participants everywhere.

I’d like to highlight some notable successes we’ve achieved together in 2025:
• Employees in the County’s plan continue to report positive experiences and outcomes when meeting
with your retirement plan advisor. The Net Promoter Score from these meetings is considered “world-
class” at 79.
• We continue to believe engagement and advice is essential in helping people achieve financial freedom –
and we continue to enhance our model for optimal engagement and results. In 2025, 1,071 participants
met with Empower either individually or through group meetings. These meetings included 244
Retirement Readiness Reviews.
• We executed on the initiative of involuntary cash outs for terminated employees with small balances
across all five County plans. This process will continue to run automatically in the background on an
ongoing basis.
• As part of the financial empowerment communication series, and in partnership with the County, we
developed a multi-email campaign designed to foster a supportive and inclusive environment that help
women take control of their financial futures. The campaign was distributed to all County employees and
addressed key topics such as retirement readiness, income security, and balancing financial priorities.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’re focused on providing the support, service, and resources you need to address the
most important priorities for your organization and your participants:

• Continued upgrades to the Empower Personal Dashboard™ to unify benefits, streamline transactions,
and encourage financial action. Upcoming enhancements include a new personalized onboarding
experience, redesigned web and app platforms for a more intuitive experience, expanded AI-powered
tools, and more.
• We’ll continue to keep our finger on the pulse of legislative and regulatory developments, specifically the
SECURE 2.0 provisions, in what could be a busy year for retirement industry changes. And we’ll keep you
well informed of how any developments may affect your plan and your employees.
• We will continue to focus on increasing the plan participant contribution rates and the Lifetime Income
Score℠, while reducing plan leakage through ongoing collaboration with the County and Innovest.