Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary Designations

How to designate a beneficiary

A participant can name anyone he or she desires as a beneficiary, and the Program has made it easy to do so online after logging in to his or her account. However, if a participant is married, the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 requires that spousal consent be obtained if the spouse is not named as the sole primary beneficiary.

Completing the Beneficiary Designation Form (page 1)

1. The employer completes the employer information that relates to the plan.
2. The participant completes the participant information.

Completing the Beneficiary Designation Form (page 2)

1. The participant provides beneficiary designations and any percentage information, if desired.
2. The participant obtains spousal consent (see below).
3. The participant signs and dates the Form, then provides a copy to you for your files.

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Note: Participants may only designate a person or an irrevocable trust as their beneficiary for retirement plan benefits.

Sending beneficiary information to the Program

The participant may submit the form to the Program via mail or email. (Note: if the spouse’s signature was witnessed by a notary, and there is a raised seal, the form must be mailed.)

The Program will process the form upon receipt and send the participant an enrollment confirmation notice, which will include investment elections and a separately mailed confirmation notice with the beneficiary designations.  Finally, the new participant will also receive a separately mailed temporary password to access the account both by telephone and online.

The participant can use his or her password to access account information and make transactions through the Customer Service Center by calling 800.348.2272 or through the website at www.abaretirement.com. Participants can change their password by calling the Customer Service Center or accessing the website.

Beneficiary rules & requirements for married participants

If a single participant becomes married, his or her spouse automatically becomes the beneficiary unless another beneficiary is named and the new spouse consents. Also, if a married participant is divorced, the former spouse automatically ceases to be a beneficiary (provided the plan receives timely notice prior to a distribution), but may still be entitled to some or all of the participant’s benefits as a result of the divorce to the extent provided in a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).

When the spouse gives a blanket (or one-time) consent, he or she is consenting to the current named beneficiary and also to any other beneficiaries named at a later date, without requiring any further consent from the spouse. If the spouse does not wish to give his or her blanket consent, the spouse should check the box next to “If this beneficiary designation is revoked, I DO NOT permit future beneficiary designation changes…” in Section 5 on the Beneficiary Designation Form. By doing so, the participant must get spousal consent again to make any future beneficiary changes.

If your plan is a money purchase pension plan (or contains monies that are transferred from such plans), on the first day of the plan year during which a married participant reaches age 35, his or her spouse is automatically reinstated as the sole beneficiary. At such time, a new beneficiary election, with the spouse’s consent, is required for the beneficiary to be someone other than the spouse. The spouse’s signature must be witnessed by either the plan representative or a notary public for a spouse’s consent to be valid. The date of the witness’s signature must be the same date as the spouse’s signature. If the participant is also the Plan Administrator, the witness must be a notary public. The beneficiary designation is effective on the date the employer signs the form, whether or not the participant is living at the time the form is received by the Program.