How to designate beneficiaries at Matrix Trust

Beneficiary designations for an employer-sponsored plan (401(k), 403(b), 457(b), defined benefit) where Matrix Trust is the custodian are held by the plan recordkeeper or administrator, not by Matrix Trust, which keeps no participant-level records for those plans.¹

For an employer-sponsored plan, a trust designation is filed with the plan recordkeeper, not with Matrix Trust, and the plan document controls whether a spouse must consent to a non-spouse beneficiary, including a trust.¹

A Safe Harbor IRA was opened by the former plan without the account holder's signature, so Matrix Trust finishes the account-opening process (the IRA Simplifier, a Customer Identification Form and a clear copy of a government-issued photo ID) before it accepts instructions on the account.¹

An IRA held at Matrix Trust can never be retitled into a trust; a trust can only be named as its beneficiary. A Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) balance rolls into a separate Roth IRA, so one job can produce two Matrix Trust IRAs, each needing its own Simplifier and its own designation.¹

A trust can be named as beneficiary of an IRA held at Matrix Trust, entered in Part 5 of the Simplifier with its exact name and its EIN.¹

The IRS Form 5305-A disclosure bundled into the Simplifier states that "if a beneficiary other than a person or qualified trust as defined in the Treasury Regulations is named, you will be treated as having no designated beneficiary of your IRA for purposes of determining the distribution period."²

Part 5 takes a percentage for each primary and contingent beneficiary; the total must equal 100% within the primary group and within the contingent group. If percentages are left blank, the named beneficiaries are deemed to own equal shares.²

The form holds four primary and four contingent beneficiaries. More are listed on an attached beneficiary addendum, and the number of addendums is stated on the form.²

A spouse's signature in Part 6 is required only when all three are true: a beneficiary is named in Part 5, the owner is married but named a primary beneficiary other than the spouse, and the owner lives in a community property or marital property state.³

Part 7 is signed with an actual written signature. The Simplifier instructions state a witness signature is not required, although the form prints witness lines.³

For IRAs. Completed by the account owner. Available to download.²

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For IRAs. Completed by the account owner. Available to download.⁴

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For IRAs. Completed by the account owner. Available to download.⁵

Part 5 states that "the interest of any beneficiary that predeceases me terminates completely, and the percentage share of any remaining beneficiaries will be increased on a pro rata basis." The share goes to the surviving named beneficiaries, not to the deceased beneficiary's descendants.²

If no beneficiary is on file when the account holder dies, Part 5 of the Simplifier supplies the order: surviving spouse; then children, including adopted children, in equal shares, with a deceased child's share going to that child's living descendants; then surviving parents in equal shares; then the estate.²

The Matrix Trust automatic rollover agreement carries the identical order at Section 7(a)(10).⁶

A Safe Harbor IRA carries a $35 annual fee below $10,000 ($50 if the account was established before April 1, 2019), an asset-based fee of 30 basis points below $100,000, and a $20 one-time lump-sum distribution fee.⁷