What to do when an Alight account holder dies

Completed by the beneficiary. Available to download.¹

Completed by the executor, administrator or survivor. Available to download. Must be notarized.²

Available to download.³

Available to download.³

If a participant has died and a trust or the participant's estate is the beneficiary, Alight needs documentation showing who is authorized to act on behalf of the trust or estate before benefits can be accessed.⁴

Alight says a representative of the estate may be an executor, administrator, trustee, or an affiant under a small estate affidavit.⁴

Where several primary beneficiaries inherit one IRA, inherited accounts must be established for each beneficiary under their own name and Social Security number. Only spousal beneficiaries may treat the IRA as their own and transfer it into their name.¹

The Beneficiary Distribution Request cannot be used for required minimum distributions. An inherited IRA must be established for a beneficiary who needs a power of attorney or guardian, who wants 100% tax withholding, or whose designated beneficiary died without taking the assets.¹

Under the Individual Transfer on Death Account Agreement, on notice of the death Pershing transfers the account to separate new accounts for the named beneficiaries without further instruction. If no beneficiary survives, the account passes to the estate.⁵

Medicare retiree benefits from an employer through Alight, and their survivor benefits and claims⁶

Clearing agent for Alight Financial Solutions accounts, providing recordkeeping and operational services⁷

On the death of an account holder, all account holders or the surviving account holders "must immediately give AFS notice thereof by telephone."⁷

The estate of a deceased account holder stays liable, jointly and severally with the surviving account holders, for account obligations arising before AFS receives that notice and for obligations incurred in liquidating or adjusting the account.⁷

The death of any person listed as an account holder is one of the events on which AFS and its clearing broker may sell or close out positions in the account, at their discretion and without prior notice.⁷

Before or after receiving notice of the death, AFS may require "such papers and inheritance or estate tax waivers," and may retain part of the account or restrict transactions in it as it deems necessary to protect itself against any tax, liability, penalty or loss.⁷

Where there is a health reimbursement account, Alight says the death of a retiree or spouse may affect coverage, and it can explain how benefits change and help notify the employer that contributes to the account.⁶

A named survivor has online access to the health reimbursement account starting January 1 of the following year, and can submit claims online from then.⁶

The Beneficiary Distribution Request pays by journal entry to a BNY Pershing account, check to the beneficiary, check to the beneficiary's IRA at another firm, an alternate payee, overnight check (fees assessed), or a federal funds wire.¹

The Beneficiary Distribution Request says that unless the beneficiary elects a different amount or no withholding, 10% federal income tax is withheld from the IRA distribution.¹

The form says a nonresident alien has 30% tax withheld, and that requesting a reduced treaty rate requires opening an inherited IRA along with Form W-8BEN.¹

Under the Transfer on Death agreement, if the account or any other of the owner's accounts at Pershing has a debit balance at death, Pershing may liquidate securities to satisfy it before distributing to the beneficiaries.⁵

Under the Transfer on Death agreement, a beneficiary who is a minor when Pershing receives notice of the death has their share transferred to a custodial, fiduciary or guardianship account on receipt of appropriate documentation.⁵