What to do when a Employee Fiduciary account holder dies
Contact Employee Fiduciary — 7-step process, 7 required documents, and varies by plan complexity. per the participant support page, once the plan sponsor approves the distribution, employee fiduciary processes it within 7-10 business days (not including mailing time); allow additional time up front to notify the recordkeeper, gather documentation, and obtain plan sponsor approval of the death distribution.
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Participant Support
Phone1-877-401-5100
Toll-Free1-877-401-5100
Fax1-251-436-0801
Mailing Address
Employee Fiduciary, LLC, 205 N. Conception St., Mobile, AL 36603
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a Employee Fiduciary account holder passes away, the next step depends on how the retirement accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Employee Fiduciary's Participant Support (1-877-401-5100) to access and distribute the funds.
Claims can be filed by phone (1-877-401-5100) or by emailing documentation to support@employeefiduciary.com. Before reaching out, gather the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Employee Fiduciary works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Notify Employee Fiduciary of the participant's death:
- Call (877) 401-5100, extension 1 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM CST)
- Or email support@employeefiduciary.com
- Or have the plan sponsor notify Employee Fiduciary directly
2
Employee Fiduciary restricts account access for security upon notification
3
Gather the required documentation:
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Deceased participant's name, Social Security number, and plan information
- Government-issued ID for the beneficiary
- Trust documents if a trust is the designated beneficiary
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the estate is the beneficiary
4
Employee Fiduciary reviews the claim and confirms the designated beneficiary per the plan document and beneficiary designation on file
5
Beneficiary selects a distribution option based on plan terms and IRS rules:
- Roll over to an inherited IRA (spouse beneficiaries may also roll into their own IRA)
- Take a lump-sum distribution
- Elect installment payments over the applicable distribution period
6
Complete required claim forms and tax withholding documentation
7
Employee Fiduciary processes the distribution
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Deceased participant's Social Security number and plan information
- Government-issued ID for the beneficiary
- Completed death benefit claim form (provided by Employee Fiduciary)
- Trust documents (if a trust is the designated beneficiary)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if estate is beneficiary)
- Tax withholding election form
What to know at this institution
Death claims are processed according to the plan document and the beneficiary designation on file. As a recordkeeper/TPA, a death benefit is not a self-service claim: the beneficiary or plan sponsor first notifies Employee Fiduciary, then the death distribution must be approved by the plan sponsor before Employee Fiduciary processes it (7-10 business days after that approval per the participant support page). Under ERISA, the plan fiduciary is obligated to pay benefits in accordance with the plan documents and beneficiary designations. If no beneficiary is designated (or all named beneficiaries predeceased the participant), the plan document's default order governs - commonly the surviving spouse first, then the participant's estate, in which case Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are required. For ERISA-covered qualified plans, a surviving spouse is the default beneficiary by law unless the spouse provided notarized written consent to a different beneficiary. The plan sponsor should also be notified, as they may need to update payroll records and address any outstanding employer contributions. Custody context: per the Employee Fiduciary 401(k) FAQ (https://www.employeefiduciary.com/401k-faq/), plan assets are held at Matrix Trust Company as custodian and recordkeeping runs on FIS Global software, so the check or rollover a beneficiary receives is disbursed out of Matrix Trust custody on Employee Fiduciary's instruction — there is no branch to visit and no separate custodian to call. SECURE Act: once the account is released, most non-spouse beneficiaries (including a see-through trust) must empty the inherited account within 10 years; a surviving spouse and the other eligible designated beneficiaries can still take distributions over life expectancy. Solo 401(k) plans are the one place this record diverges: the deceased participant was usually also the plan sponsor and trustee, so there is no HR department to approve the death distribution and a successor plan administrator or surviving-spouse trustee must step into the sponsor role before Employee Fiduciary can release the account.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Employee Fiduciary
Employee Fiduciary asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Employee Fiduciary requires.
Build your letter of instructionHow long the process takes at Employee Fiduciary: Varies by plan complexity. Per the participant support page, once the plan sponsor approves the distribution, Employee Fiduciary processes it within 7-10 business days (not including mailing time); allow additional time up front to notify the recordkeeper, gather documentation, and obtain plan sponsor approval of the death distribution. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
Employee Fiduciary requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Deceased participant's Social Security number and plan information, and Government-issued ID for the beneficiary, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
No. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s cannot be retitled to a trust during the account owner's lifetime per IRS rules. Instead, name your revocable living trust as the beneficiary of the retirement account. This ensures the account passes to the trust upon your death without going through probate.
When a participant dies, the account passes to the named beneficiaries on file according to the plan document and beneficiary designation. Upon notification of death, Employee Fiduciary restricts account access for security and works with the beneficiary to gather a certified death certificate, beneficiary identification, and any required trust or estate documents. Beneficiaries can typically choose to roll the account over to an inherited IRA, take a lump-sum distribution, or elect installment payments based on plan terms and IRS rules. To begin a death claim, call (877) 401-5100, extension 1, or email support@employeefiduciary.com.
Under the SECURE Act of 2019 and SECURE 2.0, most non-spouse beneficiaries of retirement accounts (including non-eligible designated beneficiaries who are individuals or "see-through" trusts) must withdraw the entire account within 10 years of the original owner's death. Eligible designated beneficiaries (surviving spouses, minor children of the participant, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries not more than 10 years younger than the participant) can still stretch distributions over their life expectancy. A trust must be drafted to qualify as a "see-through" trust to receive look-through treatment. Consult an estate attorney before naming a trust as beneficiary of an Employee Fiduciary retirement account.
Employee Fiduciary's Participant Support can be reached by phone at 1-877-401-5100, email at support@employeefiduciary.com, and fax at 1-251-436-0801 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Employee Fiduciary retirement accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Participant Support can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Employee Fiduciary primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
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Participant Support
Phone1-877-401-5100
Toll-Free1-877-401-5100
Fax1-251-436-0801
Mailing Address
Employee Fiduciary, LLC, 205 N. Conception St., Mobile, AL 36603
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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