Disclaiming a 401 (K)
If the only beneficiary of a 401K disclaims , does the estate become the beneficiary ?
2nd question- If the only beneficiary of an Individual TOD account disclaims, does the TOD refer back to the will for the replacement beneficiary ?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2024-12-17 22:59
If a 401k beneficiary disclaims, the beneficiary is the default beneficiary designated by the plan provisions. I think that if there is a surviving spouse who waived the right to be named as beneficiary, a disclaimer could restore that spouse as the beneficiary. If no spouse, any children, or the estate would be the default beneficiary most likely specified in the plan.
For a taxable POD account, where the POD beneficiary disclaims, the estate would be the beneficiary and the will or intestate provisions if there is no will would determine who inherits.