Benefits and Beneficiary Review
Review financial account beneficiaries and relevant employer or personal protections to keep important designations current.
What Benefits and Beneficiary Review gets you.
By the end of this upgrade you will have current, correct beneficiary designations on every applicable account and a clear picture of your relevant employer benefits.
- List of all retirement, investment, and insurance accounts
- Current beneficiary designations for each
- Employer benefits summary or open enrollment materials
- Legal names and information for intended beneficiaries
Run the upgrade.
- 01
List every account requiring a beneficiary
Identify retirement accounts, life insurance policies, HSAs, and other accounts that carry a beneficiary designation separate from a will.
- 02
Pull current designations for each account
Log into each account or contact the provider to confirm exactly who is currently listed as primary and contingent beneficiary.
- 03
Compare designations to your current wishes
Check each listing against major life events (marriage, divorce, children, deaths) that may have made the designation outdated.
- 04
Update outdated designations
Submit updated beneficiary forms for any account that does not reflect your current wishes, including full legal names and percentages.
- 05
Review employer benefit elections
Check life insurance, disability coverage, and any other elective employer benefits during open enrollment to confirm coverage still matches your needs.
- 06
Store a record of all designations
Keep a written or digital summary listing each account, its beneficiaries, and the date last confirmed.
- Every account with a beneficiary designation has been reviewed
- All designations reflect current wishes and life circumstances
- Outdated designations have been updated with the provider
- A dated summary record of all designations is stored securely
Annually
- Review after marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family
- Re-check during each open enrollment period
Beneficiary rules and forms vary by account provider and can override a will — confirm requirements directly with each institution.