beneficiary form (spouse)
A 401(a) participant is being told by her employer (hospital) that she does not need to update her beneficiary form now that she has remarried; children are listed as the primary beneficiaries.
I thought the spouse automatically becomes the 100% primary beneciiary upon marriage; effectively overiding the beneficiary form.
Note: Does it matter if the plan is ERISA or non-erisa? I am not sure if the hospital is a gov’t funded or non-profit
Thank you!
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2013-05-01 23:07
It’s best to request an explanation from the plan administrator. Sec 401(a)(11) requires the spouse to be the sole beneficiary unless waived by the spouse, however (d) of that section allows a plan to not consider the spouse as beneficiary unless they are married one year. Or this could be something else, including an error. Does participant WANT to name her spouse as beneficiary, or is she just asking if she MUST name him?