How Do I Select and Manage My Beneficiaries?

How to Designate a Beneficiary Walkthrough

In this article, we will cover:

• • Where Can I Manage My Beneficiary Election?
  • How Do I Create My First Beneficiary?
  • How Do I Create a Second Beneficiary?
  • How Do I View My Current Beneficiaries?
  • How Do I Add a Contingent Beneficiary?
  • How Do I Remove a Beneficiary?
  • How Do I Edit My Beneficiary's Contact Information?
  • How Do I Edit the Allocation of My Beneficiary Percentages?
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Where Can I Manage My Beneficiary Election?

On the "Retirement Overview" page of your saver portal, select Change Beneficiary. This will open the "Name Your Beneficiary" page, where you can manage your beneficiary elections.

How Do I Create My First Beneficiary?

To create your first beneficiary:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Add Beneficiary.
3. The "Create a Beneficiary" form will appear.
4. Complete the form, then click Create Beneficiary.

In the "Create a Beneficiary" form, you will need to indicate the Type of Recipient from the drop-down, selecting Person, Trust, or Charity/Organization. From there, input all of the form details:

• Person: First Name, Last Name, Relationship (Spouse, Parent, Child, Other), SSN, Phone Number, Email, and Address.
  
• Trust: Trust Name, Tax ID, Holding Financial Institution, Phone Number, Email, and Address.
  
• Charity/Organization: Business Name, EIN, Phone Number, Email, and Address.

Since you have no other beneficiaries in the system, the first beneficiary you create will default as a Primary Beneficiary with 100% allocation of the primary beneficiary rights.

How Do I Create a Second Beneficiary?

To create your second beneficiary:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Add Beneficiary.
3. The "Create a Beneficiary" form will appear.
4. Choose Primary from the Beneficiary Level.
5. Complete the form, then click Create Beneficiary.
6. The "Reallocate Beneficiary Percentages" window will prompt you to allocate how the original and new beneficiaries split rights to the account.
7. Once you have adjusted the percentages to your preference, select Save Percentages.

Once your second beneficiary has been created you will see both of them listed on the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.

How Do I View My Current Beneficiaries?

Beneficiaries that have been created and stored on the Vestwell platform can be viewed on a beneficiary card on the "Name Your Beneficiary" page. This card will display high-level contact information for the beneficiary and how much of the account is designated to them.

How Do I Add a Contingent Beneficiary?

To create a contingent beneficiary:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Add Beneficiary.
3. The "Create a Beneficiary" form will appear.
4. Choose Contingent from the Beneficiary Level.
5. Complete the form, then click Create Beneficiary.

Note: You will not be able to create a contingent beneficiary if you do not already have a primary beneficiary in the system.

How Do I Remove a Beneficiary?

To remove a beneficiary:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Remove on the appropriate beneficiary card.

How Do I Edit My Beneficiary's Contact Information?

To edit your beneficiary's contact information:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Edit on the appropriate beneficiary card.
3. The form will appear where you can edit beneficiary information.

Note: If you have entered insufficient data, you will be forced to fix it before saving any changes.

How Do I Edit the Allocation of My Beneficiary Percentages?

To edit the allocation of your beneficiary percentages:

1. Navigate to the "Name Your Beneficiary" page.
2. Select Adjust Percentages under the category of beneficiaries you would like to edit.
3. The "Reallocate Beneficiary Percentages" window will prompt you to allocate how the beneficiaries split rights to the account.
4. Once you have adjusted the percentages to your preference, select Save Percentages.

Note: The Adjust Percentages button will not appear in your portal if you do not have more than one beneficiary in that category. The only option will be to remove the single beneficiary altogether.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Change the Level of a Beneficiary From Primary to Contingent or Vice Versa?

You can not directly edit the level of a beneficiary. To accomplish this, you should remove and re-enter the beneficiary as the correct/appropriate type.

How Do I Change the Entity Type of a Beneficiary?

You cannot directly edit the entity type of a beneficiary. To accomplish this, you should remove the beneficiary and re-enter it with the correct/appropriate entity type.

What Is "Spousal Consent," and Why Am I Seeing Information About It in My Portal?

If you're married, federal law requires that your spouse is automatically the beneficiary of your retirement plan. If you want anyone other than your spouse to receive any portion of your Vestwell benefits upon your death, you must complete the following:

• Update your beneficiary information through your portal.
• Have your spouse sign the spousal consent waiver before a Notary Public.
  

  • To access the waiver, click on the Change Beneficiary button from the home page. Then, find the "Spouse Approval" section on the right of the screen with the Spousal Consent Form.pdf. Download this form and follow the instructions.

• Retain this notarized consent form with your important papers.

• Non-spousal beneficiaries will need to present the form at the same time as withdrawing the benefits.

Remember that in the case of significant life events like a change in marital status or having children, you'll want to review and possibly update your beneficiary elections. Therefore, we recommend reviewing your elections at least annually.

Why Can't I Save My Beneficiary?

If the application is not allowing you to save your beneficiary successfully, it is usually for one of two reasons:

1. You have not provided all of the required information. Please review the required information for the entity type of beneficiary you are trying to create.
2. You have not provided information in a valid format. Please review the input fields for validation feedback.

If you need assistance, please reach out to Vestwell directly at help@vestwell.com.