What to do when a Great-West Life account holder dies

Completed by the claimant. Available to download.¹

Completed by each beneficiary. Sent by the institution on request.^{2, 3, 4}

Empower accepts and maintains beneficiary designations in good order without the plan administrator's further approval, and verifies spousal consent where the plan requires it.⁵

On a plan where Empower's beneficiary recordkeeping service is not active, the plan administrator or a designated third party holds the designations.⁵

On a SecureFoundation contract with a single life election, the guarantee ends at death and the remaining Fund Value passes to the beneficiary, who may elect to establish a Benefit Base of their own.⁶

With a joint life election, the beneficiary may keep the account in the survivor's name, keep the established Benefit Base and continue receiving the established Guaranteed Annual Withdrawals. Ask Empower which election is on the contract.⁶

In-plan annuities (SecureFoundation II, Smart Track, general-account fixed) are claimed from Empower. A Great-West individual annuity contract issued before June 1, 2019 was reinsured to Protective Life and is claimed from Protective.⁷

A Great-West individual life policy issued before June 1, 2019 is claimed from Protective. A contract written in New York went to Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company: the same claims intake, a different issuing entity on the paperwork.⁷

American Dental Association Members Insurance Plans certificates moved to Protective in 2019. Beneficiary designations, ownership transfers and collateral assignments carried over unchanged, so the designation on the old Great-West certificate still applies.⁷

Great-West individual life and individual annuity contracts issued before June 1, 2019, reinsured in 2019^{2, 3, 4}

Protective provides IRS Form 712 on request. It describes the form as the statement of the policy values as of the date of death, which the IRS requires with an estate or gift tax return.^{2, 3, 4}

Notifying Empower restricts account access before the claim is opened. Empower states: "when we learn an account holder has passed we immediately limit account access for enhanced security."⁷

The plan administrator, not Empower, determines the beneficiary when Empower has received no designation in good order or when there is a conflict. A beneficiary told there is nothing on file goes to the former employer's plan administrator.⁵

Empower lists five payout options: open an IRA with Empower, request regular installment payments, open a new account, transfer funds to an existing account, or receive a check.⁷

Protective pays by ACH, check, or an Immediate Benefit Account where available.^{2, 3, 4}

Protective states there is technically no limit on how long a beneficiary has to file, and asks to be notified as soon as possible.^{2, 3, 4}