Updating your beneficiaries

Your beneficiary is the person (or people) you choose to receive the money from your benefits when you die. It can be your spouse, child, grandchild, or anyone else who’s important to you. Naming beneficiaries means your loved ones will get timely access to money they’re entitled to in the event of your passing.

You can elect more than one person to be your primary beneficiary. You can also elect secondary beneficiaries, known as contingent beneficiaries. A contingent beneficiary is second in line for your benefit. He or she would receive a benefit if your primary beneficiary can’t be located, declines the benefit, isn’t legally permitted to accept it, or dies before you do.

Pro tip: Check the plan rules if you name a child as a beneficiary. Some benefits may not be paid out until that child becomes an adult.

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When you’re planning your estate, you want to leave your loved ones in a secure place. Keeping your beneficiaries up to date is the first step. Here’s why: 

• Beneficiaries may receive money from your Lam benefits when you die. If you don’t name a beneficiary, each plan has different rules that determine where the money goes, which may be to someone you didn’t intend to receive it.
• If you haven’t chosen a beneficiary, the money from a benefit plan could go to your estate—setting up your loved ones for a legal process that can take months. And in some cases, the money may never be paid out.
• The people you want to receive benefits may shift over time. For example, you might want to name a new beneficiary after a life change like marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or a death in the family.

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On a roll?

Take the next step, and prepare your will using the free online tools from The Standard.

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