What to do when a MissionSquare account holder dies

Because MissionSquare administers the plan but the public employer sponsors it. On an employer plan — a 457(b), 401(a), 401(k), or 403(b) — the plan sponsor must complete and sign its sections of the Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet before MissionSquare will distribute, unless the participant was already receiving distributions at death. In practice that means the county, city, school district, or agency HR or benefits office sits on the critical path of your claim, and no amount of following up with MissionSquare moves it. Contact that office early and ask specifically who signs beneficiary claim paperwork. The exception is a MissionSquare IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP, or Payroll Deduction): an IRA has no plan sponsor, so no employer signature is required and the claim is settled with MissionSquare alone. If the deceased had both an employer plan and an IRA, expect the IRA to settle first.

A complete copy of the entire trust document, submitted WITH the beneficiary designation — not later, and not in summary form. MissionSquare states plainly on its Beneficiary Designation Form that if you name a trust as a primary or contingent beneficiary you must submit a copy of your entire trust document with the form, and that this is what allows the beneficiaries of the trust to be treated as designated beneficiaries for required minimum distribution purposes. A certification of trust or an abstract will not substitute. You also give the trust name exactly as it appears in the instrument, the date it was established, and the trust EIN. The reason for the strictness is the payout: a trust that does not satisfy the IRS look-through requirements is treated as a NON-PERSON beneficiary, and a non-person beneficiary of a participant who died before the required beginning date must take the entire balance out by December 31 of the fifth anniversary year, rather than stretching over ten years or a life expectancy. If death was on or after the required beginning date, the payout runs on the decedent's remaining life expectancy. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions about whether a trust satisfies the look-through rules.

Yes. MissionSquare's Beneficiary Designation Form states that if you provide percentages that do not total 100%, or provide non-whole numbers, your designations will be INVALID. That means splitting an account three ways as 33.33% / 33.33% / 33.34% invalidates the designation, while "33% / 33% / 34%" is accepted. Primary designations must total 100% on their own, and contingent designations must separately total 100%. There is one saving default: if no percentages are entered for any beneficiary at all, the benefit is simply allocated equally among them — so leaving the field blank is safer than filling it in wrong. Note also that MissionSquare disclaims responsibility for whether your designation complies with your state's law, and warns that failing to satisfy state-law requirements may result in the designation being invalidated and benefits being paid under state law instead. Since a bad designation is only discovered after death, when it cannot be fixed, it is worth logging in at accountaccess.missionsq.org and reading the current designation back.