diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/net/md_5/bungee/conf/YamlConfig.java b/proxy/src/main/java/net/md_5/bungee/conf/YamlConfig.java
index 0b3ffb9c..283cf395 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/net/md_5/bungee/conf/YamlConfig.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/net/md_5/bungee/conf/YamlConfig.java
@@ -246,6 +246,7 @@ public class YamlConfig implements ConfigurationAdapter
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     public Collection<String> getPermissions(String group)
     {
-        return get( "permissions." + group, Collections.EMPTY_LIST );
+        Collection<String> permissions = get( "permissions." + group, null );
+        return ( permissions == null ) ? Collections.EMPTY_SET : permissions;
     }
 }