A beneficiary is a person that a Reliant employee designates to receive the funds in their 403(b)(9) retirement savings account, should the employee pass away. Employees have the option to elect a primary and secondary beneficiary. The role of a beneficiary may be distributed to more than one person if desired. If a Reliant employee is over the age of 35 and married, the beneficiary will automatically default to his/her spouse (even if the employee had a previous beneficiary on file with Principal). It is possible for a spouse to waive their right as beneficiary if another beneficiary is desired, but the spouse must provide their written consent to Principal. It is important to designate a beneficiary/beneficiaries and to keep them up to date, to save loved ones from the hassle of having to get a court order to obtain these funds. To update or change your beneficiary see Changes to Beneficiaries.
Designating a Minor as Beneficiary
Choosing a Charity or Church Organization as a Beneficiary
In the event that you cannot or choose not to designate a personal beneficiary, you can choose a charity or church organization as a beneficiary.
To select a charity or church organization as your beneficiary, you will need the following information:
- Full Name and Address: Organization's Name and Street Address
- Percentage: The percentage amount designated to go to organization (if there are multiple beneficiaries, all boxes in this column must be a sum total of 100%)
- Date of Birth: (any date will do)
- Relationship: Church/Charity
- Social Security Number: Organization's Tax ID Number
What happens in the case of death?
For more information see this handout from Principal: