How to designate beneficiaries at FRS

Under Pension Plan Options 3 and 4 the beneficiary must qualify as a joint annuitant: the spouse, a natural or legally adopted child under 25 or disabled and incapable of self-support, or a parent, grandparent or ward who depended on the member for at least half of their support.¹

A member in the FRS Hybrid Option designates separately for each plan. An Investment Plan designation does not change the Pension Plan beneficiary.^{1, 2}

A Pension Plan member's surviving spouse is automatically the beneficiary unless the member designated someone else after the most recent marriage.¹

Percentages on every beneficiary form must be whole numbers totaling 100 percent.^{3, 4, 5}

The Investment Plan form is not processed if the percentages do not total 100 percent.⁵

Form FST-12, used by retired members and DROP participants, must be signed in the presence of a notary public.⁴

If a married Investment Plan member names a primary beneficiary other than the spouse, the spouse must sign Form IPBEN-1 to acknowledge it. The form states that an unacknowledged designation may not be honored.⁵

For pensions. Completed by an active or terminated (not retired) Pension Plan member. Available to download.³

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For pensions. Completed by a retired Pension Plan member or DROP participant. Available to download. Must be notarized.⁴

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For employer retirement plans. Completed by an Investment Plan member. Available to download.⁵

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For employer retirement plans. Completed by an Investment Plan member, signed electronically. Completed online.⁶

The Division of Retirement states that a member's will, trust agreement or divorce decree has no bearing on how FRS survivor benefits are paid.¹

A retiree under Option 3 or Option 4 may change the joint annuitant only twice after benefits begin, using the Change of Joint Annuitant Form (JA-1). Each change recalculates the monthly benefit.¹

A divorce does not remove a former spouse as joint annuitant. Removing them takes a notarized Joint Annuitant Nullification Form (JA-NUL) and a copy of the divorce papers.¹

A joint annuitant nullification cannot be reversed, and an Option 4 benefit drops by one-third from its effective month.¹

The FRS Investment Plan on the MyFRS Financial Guidance Line²