NC tax reimbursements pulled from Charlotte financial firm that promised 300 jobs
A Charlotte retirement firm will not receive North Carolina tax incentives for their promised headquarters expansions that would create hundreds of jobs.
Retirement Clearinghouse, headquartered south of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, failed to meet the requirements to receive payments from a state program called the Job Development Investment Grant, Economic Investment Committee officials said during Tuesday’s regular meeting in Raleigh.
For a company to receive the approved state tax incentives under the program, the state departments of Commerce and Revenue must verify that the company is meeting its spending and job creation goals.
Retirement Clearinghouse sent a letter asking to withdraw from the grant agreement because it wasn’t going to meet its hiring target, committee members said Tuesday. The company said in its letter that the pandemic slowed down its growth rate “significantly.”
In 2020, Retirement Clearinghouse said it would invest more than $4.1 million to expand its headquarters and corporate office in Charlotte, and create 300 IT and call center jobs with an average wage of nearly $66,000. At that time, the firm had 60 employees.
For its investment, the firm was to receive up to $3.3 million over 12 years for meeting hiring and investment goals.
Retirement Clearinghouse has since added 100 jobs, but since the pandemic, most employees work remotely, the firm told The Charlotte Observer. “So we have more people working outside of Charlotte now than we had in 2020,” Retirement Clearinghouse said.
The company also has focused on expanding technology and service operations, “with a lesser emphasis on call center services,” Retirement Clearinghouse said.
Retirement Clearinghouse has grown to 136 employees companywide with 106 in North Carolina, the firm said in its letter to the state economic committee.
Retirement Clearinghouse helps rollover retirement plans, like 401(k)s, to new employers when people change jobs. The company’s majority owner is Robert Johnson, former owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and founder of Black Entertainment Television.
Other Charlotte-area firms lose incentives
Just last month, a pharmaceutical company and life insurance firm in the Charlotte area also had state incentives yanked after failing to meet the requirements promised to receive Job Development Investment Grant payment.
Incentives for BestCo in Mooresville were pulled because the company did not submit its required annual performance report, The Charlotte Observer reported. State records show no public dollars were distributed to BestCo under the 2022 grant.
In 2022, BestCo — a manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical, vitamin and supplement products — said it would invest $177 million and create 394 jobs expanding its Iredell County facility. For its investment, BestCo was to receive over $2 million in state tax incentives over 12 years.
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co. in Charlotte also failed to meet the requirements to receive state tax incentives. Equitable retained 618 positions and employed 401 new eligible positions at its Charlotte regional headquarters facility last year, the company said in a letter requesting to withdraw from the program. As of 2023, the state had awarded the company more than $1.6 million through payroll tax benefits for achieving initial hiring targets.
In 2017, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co. said it would invest $18 million to expand operations in Mecklenburg County. The company promised to add 550 new jobs over five years.
For its investment, the company was eligible to receive up to $11.8 million in reimbursements over 10 years.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.