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What to do when an ADP account holder dies

Report the death to ADP's Retirement Services Participant Service Team at 1-800-695-7526

After an account holder at ADP dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact ADP's Retirement Services Participant Service Team at 1-800-695-7526 with the proper legal authority documents.

Death claim process

To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what ADP requires:

Filing a claim

1
For a 401(k) or other plan on mykplan.com, call the ADP Retirement Services Participant Service Team at 800-695-7526, Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm ET (603-870-1100 from outside the U.S.), and ask which documents it needs.
2
Tell the plan administrator as well: the mykplan.com terms direct communications about the plan to "YOUR PLAN ADMINISTRATOR."
3
If the employer is out of business, the "Employer Out of Business" answer on ADP's support page for employees sends 401(k) questions to mykplan.com and to the service team at 800-695-7526.
4
For a Save4Retirement Pooled Employer Plan account, ADP says Pentegra, the pooled plan provider, is responsible for authorizing distributions.
5
For an ADP TotalSource Retirement Savings Plan account, report the death to the Plan Service Center at Voya on (855) 646-7549 and press 0 for a Customer Service Associate (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday).
6
Voya confirms the beneficiary designations on file and contacts each beneficiary for the documents, which vary by beneficiary type. The plan's claims procedure also names adptotalsource.voya.com.
7
Once Voya has the documents, it opens a Beneficiary account in the beneficiary's name and Social Security number and mails a PIN for calling the Plan Service Center.
8
A SIMPLE IRA under ADP's plan is a Fidelity Advisor SIMPLE IRA, so its claim runs through Fidelity (see the SIMPLE IRA section).
9
A beneficiary of a participant may use mykplan.com: register with the Register Now button on the login page.

Required Documents

  • Original death certificate with the cause of death stated, ADP TotalSource plan, every beneficiaryVoya's brochure also calls it "a certified copy of the participant's death certificate" and says "A photocopy is not valid."
  • Completed Beneficiary Information & Certification form, ADP TotalSource plan, from each beneficiary, or each child or parent who takes when no beneficiary is on file
  • Minor Beneficiary - Representation of Parent as Legal Guardian form, ADP TotalSource plan, a minor beneficiary or child whose parent is the legal guardian
  • Proof of legal guardianship, ADP TotalSource plan, a minor whose guardian is not a birth parent
  • Copy of the spouse's Social Security card, ADP TotalSource plan, no beneficiary on file and a surviving spouse
  • Notarized letter listing each child's legal name, ADP TotalSource plan, no beneficiary on file, no surviving spouse, surviving children
  • Copy of each child's birth certificate and Social Security card, ADP TotalSource plan, no beneficiary on file, no surviving spouse, surviving children
  • Notarized letter listing each parent's legal name, ADP TotalSource plan, no beneficiary on file, no surviving spouse or children, surviving parents
  • Copy of each parent's Social Security card, ADP TotalSource plan, no beneficiary on file, no surviving spouse or children, surviving parents
  • Notarized letter stating there is no surviving spouse, children or parents, ADP TotalSource plan, the executor claims where no beneficiary, spouse, child or parent survives
  • Court documents showing the creation of an estate and naming the executor or administrator, ADP TotalSource plan, the executor claims
  • The estate's EIN, ADP TotalSource plan, the executor claimsThe checklist names it "Employee Identification Number (EIN) for the estate."

What happens to each kind of account1

Employer retirement plan

In the ADP TotalSource plan, a loan outstanding at death "will become immediately due and payable." The benefit may be offset by the loan amount, which is treated as a distribution at the offset.1

If an ADP TotalSource account has no beneficiary on file, the plan pays in this order: spouse, lineal descendants, parents, estate. If the plan is unsure of identity and status, it may pay the estate.1

Accounts handled elsewhere3

Plan Service Center at Voya (ADP TotalSource plans)

ADP TotalSource Retirement Savings Plan accounts, administered by Voya Institutional Plan Services, LLC1

Phone: 1-855-646-7549 (press 0)

Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-8:00 PM ET

Mailing address: Voya Financial, Attn: ADP TotalSource Plan Administration, P.O. Box 389, Hartford, CT 06141

Pentegra

Authorizing distributions from Save4Retirement Pooled Employer Plan accounts, as pooled plan provider2

Fidelity Advisor shareholder line

Fidelity Advisor IRAs, including SIMPLE IRAs under ADP's Fidelity Advisor SIMPLE IRA plan3

Phone: 1-877-208-0098

Hours: 8:30 AM-7:00 PM ET (any day the New York Stock Exchange is open)

What ADP's agreement and guidance say6

Online access

The mykplan.com terms make the site available to registered users who are "participants (or beneficiaries of such participants)" in the employer's retirement plan.4

Telling the institution

The mykplan.com terms say ADP makes the site available "on your employer's behalf," and that communications about the plan, other than copyright notices, "SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO YOUR PLAN ADMINISTRATOR."4

How proceeds are paid

In the ADP TotalSource plan, a beneficiary may take a lump sum, as cash or a direct rollover to another plan or an IRA, or equal installment payments over a set term.1

An ADP TotalSource account that "does not exceed $1,000" is paid automatically as a cash lump sum. One that "does not exceed $7,000 and is more than $1,000" is rolled to an IRA the Plan Administrator designates unless the beneficiary elects a lump sum in writing.1

Payment to a minor or incapacitated beneficiary

In the ADP TotalSource plan, a custodian or guardian oversees the account of a beneficiary under 18 until the minor reaches 18.1

Dormant and unclaimed accounts

If an ADP TotalSource beneficiary cannot be located, the Plan Administrator may have the balance put in an interest-bearing savings account in the beneficiary's name, or forfeited and reinstated if the beneficiary comes forward.1

A denied or disputed claim

The ADP TotalSource plan's summary plan description says the Plan Administrator gives the reasons for a denial in writing or electronically, and a denied claim may be appealed "in writing within 60 days after receiving notification of the denial."5

Not in ADP's published guidance2

  • Death claim procedure for ADP 401(k) and 403(b) plans
  • Claim mailing address for ADP 401(k) and 403(b) plans

Sources5

Download instructions for the whole estate

Retirement Accounts

1 product
1
A SIMPLE IRA under ADP's plan is a Fidelity Advisor SIMPLE IRA, with Fidelity Management Trust Company as IRA custodian, so the claim runs through Fidelity.
2
Contact the account's Financial Advisor, or call Fidelity Advisor shareholder services at 877-208-0098 (8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, any day the New York Stock Exchange is open).
3
Ask the Financial Advisor for the beneficiary form. The Fidelity Advisor IRA Distribution Request says a distribution that "is due to the death or divorce of the IRA owner" takes "the appropriate beneficiary distribution or transfer form."

Required Documents

  • Fidelity Advisor beneficiary distribution or transfer formThe Financial Advisor supplies it with additional instructions.

Claims Contact

Phone: 1-877-208-0098

Hours: 8:30 AM-7:00 PM ET (any day the New York Stock Exchange is open)

Mailing address: Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company, Inc., P.O. Box 770002, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0082

Forms ADP issues1

Fidelity Advisor beneficiary distribution or transfer form

Sent by the institution on request.1

What happens to each kind of account1

IRA

Where no beneficiary is designated for a Fidelity Advisor SIMPLE IRA, the beneficiary form says the surviving spouse is the beneficiary, or the estate if there is no surviving spouse.2

Under ADP's SIMPLE IRA plan, each eligible employee "must establish a Fidelity Advisor – SIMPLE IRA" to receive contributions.3

Accounts handled elsewhere1

Fidelity line for financial advisors

Calls from financial advisors2

Sources3

Applies To

SIMPLE IRA
Download instructions for the whole estate

ADP's Retirement Services Participant Service Team can be reached by phone at 1-800-695-7526 for questions throughout the claims process.

Sources

(6)·

Data sourced from ADP primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.

ADP death claims support

Retirement Services Participant Service Team

Retirement Services, outside the U.S.

1-603-870-1100Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-9:00 PM ET

mykplan.com Customer Service Representative

ADP TotalSource Plans (Voya)

1-855-646-7549 (press 0)Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-8:00 PM ET

Fidelity Advisor shareholders (SIMPLE IRA)

1-877-208-00988:30 AM-7:00 PM ET (any day the New York Stock Exchange is open)

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-9:00 PM ET
Verified Sep 2026

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