Human Interest is a retirement provider managing 7 retirement retirement accounts. These tax-advantaged accounts transfer by beneficiary designation—not by will—making it critical to keep designations current and aligned with broader estate planning goals.

Beneficiary designations at Human Interest can be managed online and by phone, typically taking 5-10 minutes online. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to name a trust as the beneficiary of retirement accounts.

Human Interest has documented procedures for both preparing accounts during your lifetime and handling claims when an account holder passes away.

Preparing your estate

Beneficiaries and trust funding

How to manage beneficiaries online, and review 7 account types at Human Interest.

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When someone dies

Death claim process

4-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.

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Frequently asked questions

Log in to the Human Interest participant portal at app.humaninterest.com and navigate to the beneficiary designation section. You can add or update primary and contingent beneficiaries, set allocation percentages, and submit changes online. You may also call (855) 622-7824 for assistance. If you are married, spousal consent is required when naming a non-spouse as your primary beneficiary.

No. Employer-sponsored retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b), and profit sharing plans cannot be retitled into a revocable living trust during the participant's lifetime. IRAs also cannot be retitled to a trust. The standard approach for estate planning purposes is to name your trust as the account beneficiary.

Human Interest primarily serves small and medium-sized businesses, serving tens of thousands of companies and millions of employees nationwide. They offer 401(k), Safe Harbor 401(k), 403(b), Solo 401(k), profit sharing, and IRA plans. Their platform integrates with over 500 payroll providers and includes in-house recordkeeping, compliance testing, and IRS paperwork handling.

Yes. Under ERISA, married participants in 401(k) and 403(b) plans must obtain notarized written spousal consent to name anyone other than the surviving spouse as the primary beneficiary. The surviving spouse is the default primary beneficiary by federal law. This applies to Human Interest 401(k), Safe Harbor 401(k), and 403(b) plans. If you want to name a child, sibling, or trust instead, your spouse must sign a consent acknowledging the designation, witnessed by a plan representative or notary. IRAs (Traditional and Roth) are not subject to ERISA and do not require spousal consent at the federal level, though community-property states may add their own consent rules.

When the employer terminates the plan, the plan sponsor must adopt a formal plan termination resolution, fully vest all participants, file a final Form 5500, and distribute all account balances. Participants receive a distribution notice from Human Interest with their options: roll the balance into an IRA (the Human Interest IRA is one option), roll into a new employer's 401(k), or take a cash distribution (subject to 20% federal withholding and a potential 10% early-withdrawal penalty if under age 59 1/2). Beneficiary designations on file remain in effect until the account is distributed.

For 2026, the employee deferral limit is $24,500. Employer contributions can be up to 25% of net self-employment income (20% of net earnings for sole proprietors after the self-employment-tax adjustment). The combined limit is $72,000 ($80,000 if age 50+ with the $8,000 catch-up). Individuals aged 60-63 can make a super catch-up contribution of $11,250, for a total of up to $83,500. An annual Form 5500-EZ filing is required once plan assets reach $250,000 at year end.