Yes! You can use AI to fill out Empower Retirement Payment Request Form

The form explicitly states that an IRS Form W-9 must accompany the request for all payees. This is often missed because it's an external requirement separate from the fields on the form itself. Submitting the request without the W-9 will lead to an automatic rejection and significant processing delays until the complete package is received. Always use a checklist to ensure all required documents, including attachments like the W-9, are included before submission.

A frequent error is entering a payee's common name, abbreviation, or 'Doing Business As' (DBA) name instead of the exact legal name listed on their Form W-9. This discrepancy causes validation failures and can lead to tax reporting issues with the IRS. To prevent this, you must directly reference the W-9 and copy the legal name exactly as it appears in Box 1.

The EIN/Taxpayer ID is a critical field that is required for every request and is highly susceptible to data entry errors like transposed numbers. Entering an incorrect ID or leaving it blank will cause the payment request to be rejected and can create serious tax reporting problems. Carefully double-check the 9-digit number against the W-9 to ensure accuracy. AI-powered tools like Instafill.ai can help by validating the format of the EIN as it's entered.

The 'Source, Amount and Frequency of Payment' section is complex, with many options for one-time, recurring, flat dollar, and basis point payments. A common mistake is checking multiple, contradictory boxes (e.g., selecting both a 'One Time Flat Dollar Amount' and a 'Recurring Annual Flat Dollar Amount' from the same source). This ambiguity forces the processor to halt the request and seek clarification, causing delays. To avoid this, carefully select only one clear payment instruction per source.

When selecting ACH as the form of payment, the bank account and routing numbers must be perfect. It is very easy to transpose digits or misread a number when entering this information manually. An incorrect number will result in a failed transaction, or in a worst-case scenario, the payment being sent to the wrong account. Always verify these numbers against a voided check or official bank documentation before submitting.

The Plan Representative Authorization section is legally binding and requires a signature, the date of signing, and the representative's printed name to be valid. Rushing to finish the form often leads to one of these fields being left blank, which immediately invalidates the entire request. Before sending, perform a final review specifically focused on the authorization block to ensure all three components are completed.

The form requires users to identify if a payee is 'New' or 'Existing'. A new payee must have their full address and contact information filled out, while an existing payee making updates must also provide the new information. A common error is checking 'New Partner/Payee' but failing to provide the address, or assuming an 'Existing Partner/Payee' record is current when it's not. This can lead to payments being delayed or mailed to an old, incorrect address.

The 'Pay Recurring Invoices' section uses a unique system requiring users to rank payment sources with numbers ('1', '2', '3') to set a priority order. Many people miss this instruction and simply put checkmarks, creating ambiguity about which account to debit first. This confusion can lead to invoices being paid from an unintended source or rejected altogether. To avoid this, read the instructions carefully and use numbers to clearly indicate the desired payment waterfall.

A critical error is entering a value in the wrong type of field, such as putting a flat dollar amount like '$1,500' into a 'Basis Points' field, or vice-versa. This can lead to catastrophic calculation errors, where a simple fee is misinterpreted as a percentage of total assets, resulting in a massively incorrect payment. Always double-check that the value you are entering corresponds to the correct label on that line, whether it's a dollar amount ($), basis points (bps), or a per-participant charge.

Since this form may be printed and filled out by hand, illegible handwriting is a common source of error. Poorly written names, addresses, and especially numerical data like EINs and account numbers can be misinterpreted by the data entry personnel at the processing center. This leads to payment delays, failed transactions, and rejected forms. To prevent this, print clearly in block letters or, better yet, use a tool like Instafill.ai, which can convert this non-fillable PDF into an interactive, fillable version for clean, typed entries.