Summary Prospectus by Investment Company (Form 497K)

EMPOWER FUNDS, INC.
("Empower Funds")

Empower Core Strategies: Flexible Bond Fund
Institutional Class Ticker: MXEDX
Investor Class Ticker: MXEWX
(the "Fund")

Summary Prospectus
April 30, 2026 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the Statement of Additional Information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.empower.com/investments/empower-funds/fund- documents. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (866) 831-7129 or by sending an email request to [email protected]. The current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated April 30, 2026, are incorporated by reference as a matter of law into this Summary Prospectus, which means they are legally part of this Summary Prospectus.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide total return, consisting of two components: (1) changes in the market value of its portfolio holdings (both realized and unrealized appreciation); and (2) income received from its portfolio holdings.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. In addition to the fees and expenses described below, you may be required to pay your financial professional brokerage commissions when you purchase or sell shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the table or example.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) 

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)	None
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends	None
Redemption Fee	None
Exchange Fee	None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 

	Institutional Class	Investor Class
Management Fees	0.38%	0.38%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.00%	0.00%
Total Other Expenses	0.28%	0.42%
Shareholder Services Fees	0.00%	0.35%
Other Expenses	0.28%	0.07%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.66%	0.80%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement1	0.21%	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement	0.45%	0.80%

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of each period. The Example also assumes that the Expense Limit is in place for the first year, that your investment has a 5% return each year, that all dividends and capital gains are reinvested, and that the Fund's operating expenses are the amount shown in the fee table and remain the same for the years shown. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be: 

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Institutional Class	$46	$190	$347	$803
Investor Class	$82	$255	$444	$990

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate generally indicates higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's turnover rate was 98% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Below is a summary of the principal investment strategies of the Fund.

The Fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities of any maturity and duration. The fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest include corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, Rule 144A fixed income securities and bank loans.

The Fund primarily invests in investment grade securities but may also invest up to 35% of its total assets in below investment grade securities (commonly known as "high yield securities" or "junk bonds").

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in foreign fixed income securities, including emerging market securities, and the Fund may invest without limitation in obligations of supranational entities (e.g., the World Bank). The Fund may enter into forward roll obligations on U.S. government securities, including mortgage dollar rolls and to-be-announced ("TBA") securities. The Fund may also invest in derivatives, including but not limited to currency forwards and futures contracts on U.S. Treasury securities.

Empower Capital Management, LLC ("ECM") is the Fund's investment adviser and, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of Empower Funds (the "Board"), selects the Fund's sub-adviser and monitors its performance on an ongoing basis. The Fund's investment portfolio is managed by ECM and one sub-adviser: Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. (the "Sub-Adviser" or "Loomis Sayles").

•ECM invests primarily in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. ECM combines a "top-down" or macroeconomic analysis of the fixed income markets together with "bottom-up" security-by-security fundamental research to identify relative value opportunities.

 

•Loomis Sayles invests in fixed income securities that it believes are attractively valued based on the credit outlook of an issuer and maximum total return potential.

ECM maintains a strategic allocation of the Fund's assets with the Sub-Adviser and reviews the asset allocations on a quarterly basis, or more frequently as deemed necessary. As of the date of this Prospectus, the target asset allocation is a 50% allocation of the Fund's assets to ECM and a 50% allocation of the Fund's assets to Loomis Sayles. Actual allocations may vary from the target allocations and ECM may change the asset allocations at any time without shareholder notice or approval.

Principal Investment Risks

Below is a summary of the principal investment risks of investing in the Fund. These risks are presented in an order that reflects ECM's current assessment of relative importance, but this assessment could change over time as the Fund's portfolio changes or in light of changes in the market or the economic environment. The Fund is not required to and will not update this Prospectus solely because its assessment of the relative importance of the principal risks of investing in the Fund changes. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

Interest Rate Risk - The market value of a fixed income security is affected significantly by changes (or the expectation of such changes) in interest rates. A wide variety of market and economic factors can cause interest rates to rise or fall, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation, disinflation or deflation, and changes in general economic conditions. When interest rates rise, the market value of a fixed income security will generally decline and when interest rates decline, the market values of such

securities will generally rise. In general, the longer the maturity or duration of a fixed income security, the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Changes in interest rates can be difficult to forecast and may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund's investments, including negatively affecting yield, value or liquidity. Actions taken by the Federal Reserve Board or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, such as increases or decreases in short-term interest rates, may adversely affect markets and the Fund's performance.

Credit Risk - An issuer (or guarantor) of a security may default on its obligations to pay principal or interest. A security's value may be affected by changes in its credit quality rating or its issuer's financial conditions.

Market Risk - The value of the Fund's investments may decrease, sometimes rapidly or unexpectedly, due to factors affecting (or perceived to affect) specific issuers held by the Fund, particular industries represented in the Fund's portfolio, or the overall securities markets. A variety of factors can increase the volatility of the Fund's holdings and markets generally, including political or regulatory developments, recessions, inflation, deflation, rapid interest rate changes, bank failures, war or acts of terrorism, sanctions, tariffs, natural disasters, outbreaks of infectious illnesses or other widespread public health issues, general outlook for corporate earnings, or adverse investor sentiment generally. Certain events may cause instability across global markets, including reduced liquidity and disruptions in trading markets, while some events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. These adverse developments may cause broad declines in an issuer's value due to short-term market movements or for significantly longer periods during more prolonged market downturns.

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk - Mortgage-backed securities represent interests in pools of commercial or residential mortgages and are subject to the risk that borrowers will prepay the principal on their loans more quickly than expected (prepayment risk) when mortgage rates fall or more slowly than expected (extension risk) when mortgage rates rise, which may affect the yield, average life and price of the securities. Because of prepayment risk and extension risk, mortgage-backed securities react differently to changes in interest rates than other fixed income securities. Small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities.

Asset-Backed Securities Risk - Asset-backed securities represent interests in pools of assets, including consumer loans, auto loans, student loans, or receivables held in trust. The value of asset-backed securities may be affected by certain factors such as interest rate risk; the credit performance of the pool of underlying assets; the creditworthiness of the servicing agent or the originator of the underlying assets; the ability of the servicing agent to service the underlying collateral; and the availability of information concerning the pool of underlying assets and its structure. Asset-backed securities are also subject to the risk that borrowers will prepay the principal on their loans more quickly than expected (prepayment risk) in a declining interest rate environment or more slowly than expected (extension risk) in a rising interest rate environment.

Below Investment Grade Securities Risk - Below investment grade securities (commonly known as "high yield securities" or "junk bonds") are speculative, have a higher degree of credit risk and interest rate risk, and may be less liquid and subject to greater volatility in market value than investment grade securities. In addition, high yield securities present a greater risk of loss (which may be substantial or total) of income and principal, than investment grade securities.

Liquidity Risk - The Fund may not be able to sell a security at or near its perceived value in a timely manner (or at all) because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, little or no active trading market for a specific type of security, legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or a reduced number or capacity of market participants to make a market in such security. Securities acquired in a private placement, such as Rule 144A securities, may involve increased liquidity risk due to restrictions on resale and the potential absence of a liquid secondary market or ready purchasers for such securities. Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period or without significant dilution to the remaining investors' interest due to market conditions or other factors. Extraordinary and sudden changes in interest rates could disrupt the market for fixed income securities and result in fluctuations in the Fund's net asset value. Increased redemptions due to a rise in interest rates may require the Fund to liquidate its holdings at an unfavorable time or under adverse or disadvantageous conditions, which may negatively affect the Fund. Investments in many foreign securities tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities because secondary trading markets for these securities may be smaller and less well-developed and the securities may trade less frequently.

Derivatives Risk - The use of derivatives, including but not limited to currency forwards and futures contracts on U.S. Treasury securities, may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. These risks include imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund's other portfolio holdings, magnified losses resulting from leverage, counterparty risk, high price volatility, liquidity risk, segregation risk, valuation risk and legal restrictions.

Foreign Securities Risk - Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, geopolitical (including war or armed conflict), regulatory, market, currency valuation, or economic or other developments, and can perform differently than the U.S. market. Current tariffs, sanctions, or the threat of potential tariffs, sanctions or similar measures may also impair the value or liquidity of affected securities and negatively impact the Fund.

Emerging Markets Risk - Emerging market countries generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based predominantly on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from limited reliable access to capital, extreme debt burdens, less established financial market operations or volatile inflation rates. The securities markets of emerging market countries may be subject to manipulation and have historically been extremely volatile and less liquid than more developed markets. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Investments in these countries may be subject to heightened political, geopolitical (including war or armed conflict), economic, legal, market, currency and tariff risks, as well as other adverse local or regional developments, including heightened risk of war and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs), and other government restrictions by the U.S. and other governments, as well as problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may also result in losses. Differences in regulatory, accounting, auditing, and financial reporting and recordkeeping standards could impede the availability of reliable information to evaluate and monitor local companies and impact the Fund's performance. There is also the risk of adverse foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.

Currency Risk - Adverse fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and other currencies may cause the Fund to lose money on investments denominated in foreign currencies.

U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk - Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises ("GSEs"), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Banks, may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) or a default by or decline in the credit rating of the applicable GSE (credit risk). Securities of GSEs are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

U.S. Government Securities Risk - U.S. government securities may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) or a default by or decline in the credit rating of the U.S. government (credit risk).

Bank Loan Risk - Bank loans often involve borrowers whose financial conditions are troubled or uncertain and companies that are highly leveraged. The market for bank loans may not be highly liquid and the Fund may have difficulty selling bank loans. These investments expose the Fund to the credit risk of both the financial institution and the underlying borrower.

Call Risk - An issuer may redeem a fixed income security before maturity (a "call") at a price below its current market value.

To-Be-Announced Securities Risk - TBA securities involve the risk that a security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There is also the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligations. If this occurs, the Fund loses both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security's price.

Mortgage Dollar Roll Risk - Mortgage dollar roll transactions involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the repurchase price of those securities. Since the counterparty in the transaction is required to deliver a similar, but not identical, security to the Fund, the security the Fund is required to buy under the mortgage dollar roll may be worth less than an identical security. These transactions involve the risk that the portfolio managers may not correctly predict mortgage prepayments and interest rates, which may diminish the Fund's performance. In addition, investment in mortgage dollar rolls may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate, which can increase the Fund's expenses and decrease returns. There is no assurance that the Fund's use of cash it receives from a mortgage dollar roll will provide a return that exceeds borrowing costs.

Management Risk - A strategy, investment decision, technique, analysis, or model used by the portfolio managers may fail to produce the intended results, or imperfections, errors or limitations in the tools and data used by the portfolio managers may cause unintended results. Therefore, the Fund could underperform in comparison to other funds with similar objectives and investment strategies and may generate losses even in a favorable market.

Multi-Manager Risk - Because ECM and the Sub-Adviser make investment decisions independently, it is possible that their security selection processes may not complement one another, and the Fund may have buy and sell transactions in the same security on the same day.

Portfolio Turnover Risk - High portfolio turnover rates generally result in higher transaction costs (which are borne directly by the Fund and indirectly by the Fund's shareholders) and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank, is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any government agency, and is subject to the possible loss of your original investment.

Performance

The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investment in the Fund by showing the performance of the Fund's Institutional Class shares for each full calendar year since inception and by comparing the Fund's average annual total returns to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. The returns shown below (before and after taxes) are historical and are not an indication of future performance. Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and include the effect of the Fund's recurring expenses.

Performance information for the period of February 26, 2024 - December 31, 2024, includes the performance of a sub-adviser that no longer manages the Fund's investment portfolio. Consequently, the Fund's total returns shown below for 2024 are not necessarily indicative of the performance of the Fund as it is currently managed.

Updated performance information may be obtained at www.empower.com/investments/empower-funds/fund-documents (the website does not form a part of this Prospectus).

Calendar Year Total Returns for Institutional Class Shares

  

	Quarter Ended	Total Return
Best Quarter	December 31, 2023	7.19%
Worst Quarter	March 31, 2022	-5.07%

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2025 

	One Year	Five Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Institutional Class before taxes	7.97%	0.53%	2.67%	6/25/2018
Institutional Class after taxes on distributions	6.26%	-0.62%	1.63%
Institutional Class after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	4.71%	-0.10%	1.60%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	7.30%	-0.36%	2.12%
Investor Class before taxes	7.61%	0.22%	0.33%	9/3/2020
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	7.30%	-0.36%	-0.30%

After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Class shares only and will vary for Investor Class shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown do not apply to investors who are tax-exempt or who hold Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs").

Investment Adviser

ECM

Sub-Adviser

Loomis Sayles

Portfolio Managers 

Name	Title	Portfolio Manager of the Fund Since
ECM
Jack Brown, CFA	Chief Investment Officer	2025
Darrin Clough, CFA	Portfolio Manager	2025
Jason Harubin, CFA	Assistant Portfolio Manager	2025
Loomis Sayles
Matthew Eagan, CFA	Vice President & Portfolio Manager	2018
Brian Kennedy	Portfolio Manager	2018

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Fund shares are available through certain broker-dealers, custodians or trustees of IRAs, or other financial intermediaries (each, a "financial intermediary") who have entered into agreements with Empower Financial Services, Inc., Empower Funds' principal underwriter and distributor (the "Distributor").

You can purchase or redeem shares on any business day that Empower Funds is open by contacting your financial intermediary. Your financial intermediary may have different requirements or fees for opening an account and for the processing of purchase and redemption orders, or may be closed at times when the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") or Empower Funds is open. The Fund does not have any initial or subsequent investment minimums. The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order.

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains (or a combination of both) unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement such as an IRA, in which case you will generally be taxed upon withdrawal of monies from the arrangement, or you are tax-exempt.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

Companies related to the Fund may make payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries for the sale of Fund shares and other services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.