What to do when a MissionSquare account holder dies
Contact MissionSquare's Workflow Management Team (beneficiary designation forms) — 7-step process, 8 required documents, and missionsquare does not publish a processing time and states only that it will open the account and process the request once the forms are received and determined to be in good order. the realistic critical path on an employer plan is the employer, not missionsquare: the packet cannot be completed until the deceased's hr or benefits office signs its sections, and that step is outside both your control and missionsquare's. a missionsquare ira has no such dependency. send the death certificate the day you have it, since the packet is not even issued until missionsquare has it.
Participant Services
Phone1-800-669-7400
Toll-Free1-800-669-7400
Fax1-844-677-3297
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320 (participant correspondence). General inquiries: MissionSquare Retirement, 777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20002
403(b) plans
Plan sponsors (employers only)
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
WebsiteLearn more→
Workflow Management Team (beneficiary designation forms)
Phone1-800-669-7400
Fax1-202-682-6439
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Retirement, Attn: Workflow Management Team, P.O. Box 96220, Washington, DC 20090-6220
WebsiteLearn more→
Participant Services (beneficiary claims; no separate bereavement unit)
Phone1-800-669-7400
Toll-Free1-800-669-7400
Fax1-844-677-3297
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320
403(b) plans
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a MissionSquare account holder 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 Workflow Management Team (beneficiary designation forms) (1-800-669-7400) to access and distribute the funds.
MissionSquare offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at MissionSquare:
Filing a claim
1
Call Participant Services at 800-669-7400 (weekdays 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET) to report the death and confirm where to send the death certificate
2
EMAIL OR FAX the death certificate to MissionSquare. This is step one of MissionSquare's own published sequence — the death certificate goes in FIRST, before any claim form, because the packet is generated from it. The participant-services fax is (844) 677-3297
3
MissionSquare then sends you a Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet. There is no claim form to download and no online claim portal — the packet is issued to you
4
Read page 1 of the packet before filling anything in. MissionSquare specifically warns that following those instructions is what prevents processing delays
5
Complete the packet. On an EMPLOYER PLAN it is a two-signature document:
- You (the beneficiary) complete your sections and the distribution election
- The deceased's EMPLOYER — the plan sponsor — completes and signs its sections, unless the participant was already receiving distributions. On a 457(b), 401(a), 401(k), or 403(b), the employer's HR or benefits office is a gating dependency you cannot work around by dealing with MissionSquare alone
- A MissionSquare IRA has no plan sponsor, so no employer signature is needed
6
Return the completed packet with your ID documentation, by fax to (844) 677-3297 or by mail to MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320
7
Once the forms are in good order, MissionSquare OPENS AN ACCOUNT in your name and processes the request — the inherited money moves into a beneficiary account rather than being cut as a check by default
Required Documents
- Death certificate — emailed or faxed FIRST, ahead of any form, to trigger the packet
- Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet, completed (issued 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 distributions. Not 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 any deceased primary or contingent beneficiary
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the estate is the beneficiary
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
MissionSquare has no branches, so nothing about this claim happens in person: the death certificate goes in by email or fax, a packet comes back, and the completed packet returns by fax or mail. Four points are specific to MissionSquare and worth knowing before you start. FIRST, the sequence is inverted from most institutions — the death certificate is submitted BEFORE any claim form exists, because the Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet is generated in response to it. There is no downloadable death-claim form. SECOND, on any employer plan the deceased's EMPLOYER must sign the packet (unless distributions had already begun); the beneficiary of a 457(b) or 401(a) is therefore dependent on a public-sector HR office, while the beneficiary of a MissionSquare IRA is not. THIRD, 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. FOURTH, spouse and non-spouse beneficiaries have different options — 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. Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse designated beneficiaries must empty the account by December 31 of the tenth anniversary year, while eligible designated beneficiaries (spouse, the participant's minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone less than 10 years younger than the participant) may use a single life expectancy calculation. Support resources: MissionSquare publishes a Loss of a Loved One Beneficiary Support Guide and an At-a-Glance Beneficiary Checklist, and a beneficiary who opens a MissionSquare account gets a complimentary one-on-one consultation with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional — note that a full written financial plan can carry a fee of up to $175 if the account balance is under $100,000.
Prepare your letter of instruction to MissionSquare
MissionSquare asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist MissionSquare requires.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at MissionSquare: MissionSquare does not publish a processing time and states only that it will open the account and process the request once the forms are received and determined to be in good order. The realistic critical path on an employer plan is the EMPLOYER, not MissionSquare: the packet cannot be completed until the deceased's HR or benefits office signs its sections, and that step is outside both your control and MissionSquare's. A MissionSquare IRA has no such dependency. Send the death certificate the day you have it, since the packet is not even issued until MissionSquare has it. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
MissionSquare requires several documents to process a claim, including Death certificate — emailed or faxed FIRST, ahead of any form, to trigger the packet, Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet, completed (issued by MissionSquare; not downloadable), and Employer (plan sponsor) signature on the packet for a 457(b), 401(a), 401(k), or 403(b), unless the participant was already receiving distributions. Not required for a MissionSquare IRA, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Email or fax the death certificate to MissionSquare — before you look for a claim form, because there is not one. MissionSquare publishes no downloadable death-claim form and runs no online claim portal. Its own four-step sequence starts with the death certificate: once MissionSquare has it, it ISSUES you a Beneficiary Account Setup and Withdrawal Packet, you and (on an employer plan) the deceased's employer complete it, you send it back with your ID documentation, and MissionSquare then opens an account in your name and processes the request. Call Participant Services at 800-669-7400 (weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET) to confirm the email address for the death certificate; the participant fax is (844) 677-3297 and the mailing address is MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320. MissionSquare specifically warns to read page 1 of the packet carefully, since not following those instructions is what causes delays. There are no branches, so no part of this can be done in person.
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.
MissionSquare's Participant Services (beneficiary claims; no separate bereavement unit) can be reached by phone at 1-800-669-7400 and fax at 1-844-677-3297 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple MissionSquare retirement accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Workflow Management Team (beneficiary designation forms) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from MissionSquare primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Participant Services
Phone1-800-669-7400
Toll-Free1-800-669-7400
Fax1-844-677-3297
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320 (participant correspondence). General inquiries: MissionSquare Retirement, 777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20002
403(b) plans
Plan sponsors (employers only)
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
WebsiteLearn more→
Workflow Management Team (beneficiary designation forms)
Phone1-800-669-7400
Fax1-202-682-6439
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Retirement, Attn: Workflow Management Team, P.O. Box 96220, Washington, DC 20090-6220
WebsiteLearn more→
Participant Services (beneficiary claims; no separate bereavement unit)
Phone1-800-669-7400
Toll-Free1-800-669-7400
Fax1-844-677-3297
Mailing Address
MissionSquare Plan Services, P.O. Box 219320, Kansas City, MO 64121-9320
403(b) plans
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your MissionSquare accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
