What to do when an Employee Fiduciary account holder dies
Report the death to Employee Fiduciary's Participant Support at 1-877-401-5100
When an account holder at Employee Fiduciary 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 the death certificate.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Employee Fiduciary works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Roll over to an inherited IRA
- Take a lump-sum distribution
- Elect installment payments over the applicable distribution period
- The deceased participant's name, Social Security number and plan details
- The beneficiary's full name and relationship to the deceased person
- The certified death certificate
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- The completed death benefit claim form
- The beneficiary's identification documents
- Trust or estate documents, if applicable
- The tax withholding election form
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- The deceased participant's name, Social Security number and plan information
- Government-issued ID for the beneficiary
- Completed death benefit claim formProvided by Employee Fiduciary.
- Trust documents, if a trust is the designated beneficiary
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the estate is the beneficiary, including where the plan's default order makes the estate the payee
- Tax withholding election form
Forms Employee Fiduciary issues1
- Distribution Request Form (plan-specific beneficiary/death distribution form)
Sent by the institution on request.1
What happens to each kind of account2
- Employer retirement plan
Death claims are processed under the plan document and the beneficiary designation on file. If no beneficiary is designated, or all named beneficiaries died before the participant, the plan document's default order governs, commonly the surviving spouse first, then the participant's estate.1
A participant loan outstanding at death is settled against the account under the plan document, so the payable balance can be lower than the last statement. A Roth sub-account is tracked and taxed separately from the pre-tax balance.1
Plan assets are held by Matrix Trust Company, and the check or rollover a beneficiary receives is paid out of Matrix Trust custody on Employee Fiduciary's instruction. There is no branch to visit and no separate custodian to call.2
- Investment account
A Self-Directed Brokerage Account sleeve (the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account) is part of the same plan account and is released through Employee Fiduciary, not claimed from Charles Schwab. Its securities may need to be sold before a distribution can be processed.1
What Employee Fiduciary provides to the estate1
- Statement copies
The participant portal offers on-demand statements: Employee Fiduciary says you "can run a report for any date you need or view the pre-generated quarterly statements." Without the participant's login, ask participant support for the account value as of the date of death.1
Help Employee Fiduciary offers survivors1
- Advisor directory
Employee Fiduciary does not give investment advice. For help choosing between an inherited IRA rollover, a lump sum and installments, it points beneficiaries to its directory of advisors licensed by state who have worked with its plans.3
What Employee Fiduciary's agreement and guidance say2
Sources3
7-10 business days from the day the plan sponsor approves the distribution, not including mailing time.
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.
Sources
Data sourced from Employee Fiduciary primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Employee Fiduciary death claims support
Participant Support
Phone
Toll-free
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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