Beneficiary Designation Guidelines

A beneficiary is a person or organization that may receive someone’s assets after he or she dies. Many documents require beneficiary designations, including wills, insurance policies, trusts, annuity contracts, beneficiary accounts and retirement plans. It is important to keep your beneficiary designations updated.

Types of Beneficiaries

A primary beneficiary is the person or organization you choose to receive your benefits in the event of your death. Your primary beneficiary may be a person, trust or other legal entity. If a primary beneficiary does not survive you, the remaining primary beneficiary(ies) will receive any eligible benefits upon your death (in equal shares, unless you specify otherwise by submitting a new beneficiary designation form).

Generally, if you are married when you die, your spouse is your primary beneficiary by plan rules and will receive 100% of your benefit. If you are married and wish to designate any person or entity other than or in addition to your spouse as your primary beneficiary, you must obtain your spouse’s written consent, witnessed by a notary public.

A secondary beneficiary is an alternate person or entity you name to receive your benefits if your primary beneficiary(ies) die(s) before you. If no primary beneficiary survives you and no secondary beneficiary is named (or survives you), payment will be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the plan(s).

You may name more than one primary and/or secondary beneficiary.

What Happens If You Do Not Designate a Beneficiary?

If you are single and do not designate a beneficiary, your benefits will be paid to your estate. If you are married and do not designate a beneficiary, your benefits will be paid to your spouse.

Beneficiaries vs. Contingent Annuitants

Your beneficiary designation(s) will not apply to:

• a lifetime annuity from the Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP),
• monthly benefits from the defined benefit portion of the Clergy Retirement Security Program,
• monthly benefits from the Pre-82 Plan,
• monthly benefits from the Collins Pension Plan for Missionaries (Collins Pension Plan), or
• any lifetime annuities being paid to you from other General Board-administered retirement plans.

Generally, when applying for an annuity or a monthly benefit, a contingent annuitant is designated; this is an irrevocable election under the plan rules. If you die after the annuity or benefit has already begun, benefits will be paid to your contingent annuitant, if any, provided certain plan requirements are met.

You may, however, designate a beneficiary to receive the remainder of an MPP single-life, period-certain annuity if you do not survive the period certain. If you are a participant in the Collins Pension Plan and are not married, you may designate a beneficiary to receive a refund of participant contributions if you terminate or retire prior to becoming vested.

Plan Designation(s)

If you check the “All retirement plans” box on the beneficiary designation form, your beneficiary designation(s) will apply to all current and future General Board-administered retirement plans in which you are enrolled or have account balances. If you do not check any boxes, your beneficiary designation(s) will apply to all current and future retirement and welfare plans in which you are enrolled or have account balances. If you want to choose different beneficiaries for different plans, you must submit a beneficiary designation form for each plan.

The plan descriptions are as follows:

Retirement Plans

• United Methodist Personal Investment Plan—A retirement plan available to lay employees and clergy.
• Clergy Retirement Security Program—A plan providing retirement benefits for certain United Methodist clergy. This plan includes any account balance participants may have in the Ministerial Pension Plan or a Pre-82 Plan reserve account.
• Retirement Plan for General Agencies—A plan providing retirement benefits for clergy and lay employees of United Methodist general agencies.
• Collins Pension Plan for Missionaries—A plan providing monthly benefits to eligible missionaries.
• Horizon 401(k) Plan—A retirement plan available to clergy and lay employees of for-profit and not-for-profit entities.

Welfare Plans

• Comprehensive Protection Plan—A plan providing welfare benefits, including disability, death and survivor benefits, for eligible United Methodist clergy.
• Basic Protection Plan—A plan providing supplemental death and disability benefits to certain United Methodist clergy and primary or supplemental benefits to lay employees, depending on arrangements with the plan sponsor.
• UMLifeOptions plans—Employer-sponsored plans providing supplemental death benefits to certain United Methodist clergy and primary or supplemental benefits to lay employees, depending on arrangements with the plan sponsor. Beneficiary forms for these plans will come directly from Unum. Call Unum at 1-800-985-0242 to obtain a new form.

For specific legal implications regarding beneficiary designations, please consult your attorney.