What to do when a MissionSquare account holder dies
Report the death to MissionSquare's Participant Services at 1-800-669-7400
When an account holder at MissionSquare passes away, the next step depends on how the retirement accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with MissionSquare's Participant Services (1-800-669-7400) to access and distribute the funds.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at MissionSquare:
Filing a claim
- You (the beneficiary) complete your sections and the distribution election
- The deceased person's employer (the plan sponsor) completes and signs its sections on a 457(b), 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b), unless the participant was already receiving distributions
- A MissionSquare IRA has no plan sponsor, so no employer signature is needed
- The deceased participant's full legal name
- Their Social Security number or account number, and the employer plan name if you know it
- Your name, relationship to the participant, and contact details
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID documentation for the claiming beneficiary
- A complete copy of the entire trust document, if a trust is the beneficiary
- Birth certificate or guardianship documentation, if the beneficiary is a minor
- A certified death certificate for any primary or contingent beneficiary who also died, if the benefit is passing past them
Required Documents
- Death certificateEmailed or faxed first, ahead of any form, to trigger the packet.
- Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet, completedIssued by MissionSquare; not downloadable.
- Employer (plan sponsor) signature on the packet, for a 457(b), 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b), unless the participant was already receiving distributionsNot required for a MissionSquare IRA.
- Government-issued photo ID documentation, for the claiming beneficiary
- Complete copy of the entire trust document, if a trust is the named beneficiary
- Birth certificate or guardianship documentation, if the beneficiary is a minor
- Certified death certificate for a beneficiary who also died, for any deceased primary or contingent beneficiary, if the benefit is passing past them
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the estate is the beneficiary
Forms MissionSquare issues1
- Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet
Completed by the beneficiary and, on an employer plan, the plan sponsor. Sent by the institution on request.1
What happens to each kind of account2
- Employer retirement plan
On any employer plan the deceased person's employer must sign the packet unless distributions had already begun. A spouse may keep the plan, roll the assets into their own IRA or retirement plan, or take a lump sum; a non-spouse may move the assets to an inherited account or an inherited IRA, or take a lump sum.1
A Retirement Health Savings (RHS) or 401(h) balance is not a cash death benefit. MissionSquare states an RHS account "transfers to your surviving spouse or eligible dependents," who keep using it for qualifying medical expenses, and the same applies to a 401(h).1
- IRA
A MissionSquare IRA has no plan sponsor, so its claim needs no employer signature and the beneficiary deals with MissionSquare alone.1
Accounts handled elsewhere2
Help MissionSquare offers survivors3
- Loss of a Loved One Beneficiary Support Guide
A guide for beneficiaries (doc 31754-1025-W3370) that sets out MissionSquare's four-step claim sequence.2
- At-a-Glance Beneficiary Checklist
A beneficiary checklist (doc 31754-1025-W3369).3
- Financial planning consultation
A complimentary one-on-one consultation with a Certified Financial Planner professional. A fee of up to $175 may be assessed for a financial plan if the account balance is less than $100,000.1
Who qualifies: A beneficiary who opens a MissionSquare account.
What MissionSquare's agreement and guidance say1
- How proceeds are paid
The default outcome is an account, not a check: MissionSquare opens an account in the beneficiary's name and processes the distribution election from there.1
Not in MissionSquare's published guidance4
- A fax number for claim documents
- A mailing address for claim documents
- An email address for claim documents
- How long a claim takes
Sources3
- 1.Loss of a Loved One
- 2.Loss of a Loved One Beneficiary Support Guide (doc 31754-1025-W3370)
- 3.At-a-Glance Beneficiary Checklist (doc 31754-1025-W3369)
MissionSquare's Participant Services can be reached by phone at 1-800-669-7400 and fax at 1-844-677-3297 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from MissionSquare primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
MissionSquare death claims support
Participant Services
Phone
Toll-free
MissionSquare Wealth Management
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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