You should review your beneficiary designations at least annually and after any major life event. 

Your retirement account is about you and it’s for you - your nest egg to enjoy in your retirement years. After working hard all those years and saving diligently, your retirement account will be there to ensure that you live comfortably in your retirement years. But unexpected things do happen. If you aren’t around to enjoy the fruits of your labor, who will inherit the balance of your retirement account? If you have a valid beneficiary designation in place, then your beneficiary will inherit. If not, your account will be distributed according to the rules of your plan. If you haven’t reviewed your beneficiary designations in awhile or if you never specified your beneficiaries, now is a great time to do so! 

Don’t Blink! 

You likely designated your beneficiaries when you first signed up for your retirement plan. That may have been last year or a decade ago. Either way, your life may have changed dramatically since that time. Maybe you got married or divorced? New baby? Congratulations! Perhaps your company’s plan merged into a new plan and your old beneficiary designations did not carry over. Given the speed of change, it’s worth taking a look at your current beneficiaries. 

It only takes a moment to make sure that your beneficiary designations are up to date. You can do so by logging in to your account at https://myplanconnection.comand then selecting “Personal Profile” and “Beneficiaries”. You may also complete the form on the back of this page and return it to the address specified at the bottom. It’s that easy! 

Married? Remember, if you are married and would like to designate someone other than your spouse as a primary beneficiary, federal law requires that you obtain your spouse’s notarized consent to this alternate designation. If you married after designating your current beneficiaries, be sure to review your current beneficiary designation. If your spouse has not consented to your designation by providing their notarized signature, then your current beneficiary designation is no longer valid.