Beneficiary Designation Review Worksheet

Why Beneficiary Designations Matter

A beneficiary designation is a legal instruction attached to a specific account or policy that determines who receives the asset when the owner dies. These designations override everything else, including a will and a trust. An outdated or misaligned designation can direct assets to the wrong person, trigger unintended tax consequences, or undermine an otherwise well-constructed estate plan.

The downloadable PDF provides a structured table for each account category so you can record every designation in one place. Print it out, bring it to your next planning review, and work through it with your advisor.

How to Use This Worksheet

For each account or policy, the worksheet captures five fields: the account type, the institution or carrier, the current primary beneficiary, the contingent beneficiary, and whether any action is needed. Record the beneficiaries exactly as they appear on file with the institution. In the action column, note whether the designation is correct, needs to be updated, or requires further review.

Common Situations That Require a Beneficiary Update

• Marriage, divorce, or remarriage
• Death of a named beneficiary
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Creation or amendment of a trust
• Change of executor or trustee
• Relocation to a new state
• Significant change in financial circumstances

Accounts That Typically Use Beneficiary Designations

Retirement Accounts

The retirement section of the worksheet covers Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, 457 plans, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, pension and profit-sharing plans, and Health Savings Accounts. For each account, you record the institution, the current primary and contingent beneficiaries, and any action needed.

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts carry significant tax implications. The choice between naming a spouse, a trust, or a non-spouse individual affects required minimum distributions, the ten-year payout rule under the SECURE Act, and whether the inherited account can be rolled over or must be distributed.

SECURE Act Considerations

The SECURE Act of 2019 eliminated the "stretch IRA" for most non-spouse beneficiaries. Inherited retirement accounts must now be fully distributed within ten years of the original owner's death. Exceptions exist for eligible designated beneficiaries: surviving spouses, minor children (until they reach majority), individuals who are disabled or chronically ill, and beneficiaries who are not more than ten years younger than the deceased. These rules make the choice of beneficiary more consequential than ever.

Life Insurance Policies

The worksheet covers term life, whole life, universal life, and group employer policies. For each policy, record the carrier, the policy type, and the current primary and contingent beneficiaries. The death benefit amount is noted on the PDF for reference, but the critical information for estate planning purposes is who receives the proceeds and how.

If you own multiple policies acquired at different stages of life, it is common for the designations to be inconsistent. A group life policy from an employer may still list an ex-spouse. A whole life policy purchased before children were born may name a parent. The purpose of this review is to surface those inconsistencies before they become problems.

Annuity Contracts

Annuities have their own beneficiary designation rules that differ from both retirement accounts and life insurance. The worksheet captures the annuity type (fixed, variable, or indexed), the carrier, and the current primary and contingent beneficiaries.

Key considerations for annuity designations include whether the contract is qualified (held within an IRA) or non-qualified (after-tax money), and whether a surviving spouse beneficiary can continue the contract rather than taking a lump-sum distribution. The tax treatment of inherited annuity proceeds depends on both the contract type and the beneficiary's relationship to the owner.

Payable-on-Death and Transfer-on-Death Accounts

POD designations apply to bank accounts; TOD designations apply to brokerage and investment accounts. Both serve the same purpose: directing assets to a named beneficiary at death without going through probate. The worksheet records the account type, institution, and beneficiary designations for each.

One of the most common estate planning oversights is opening a new bank or brokerage account and forgetting to add a POD/TOD designation or re-title it in the name of the trust. Any account without a designation or trust titling will pass through probate, even if every other account is properly set up.

When to Review Designations

Beneficiary designations should be reviewed at least annually and immediately after any major life event. The worksheet includes space for a review date and advisor notes so you can track when the last review was completed.

Common Pitfalls

Even well-intentioned estate plans fail when beneficiary designations are overlooked. These are the issues this worksheet is designed to catch:

• Naming a minor child directly. Minors cannot legally receive insurance or retirement proceeds. A custodial arrangement or trust should be in place.
• Leaving the contingent line blank. If the primary beneficiary predeceases you and there is no contingent, the asset passes to your estate and goes through probate.
• Naming "my estate" as beneficiary. This forces the asset through probate and, for retirement accounts, eliminates the ability to stretch distributions.
• Forgetting group life insurance. Employer-provided group life often defaults to "spouse" or "estate." Verify the actual designation on file with HR.
• Assuming the will controls. A beneficiary designation filed with a financial institution always overrides what the will says. The only way to change it is to file a new designation form.