Estate planning at Paychex
How to protect 9 Paychex accounts — manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust online, and file death claims
Paychex Support
Paychex Support
Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions
Paychex Retirement Services, Attn: Loans and Distributions, 1175 John Street, West Henrietta, NY 14586
Retirement retirement accounts at Paychex transfer by beneficiary designation, not through probate. With 9 account types, each carrying different tax implications for heirs, getting these designations right is one of the most consequential estate planning decisions.
Beneficiary designations at Paychex can be managed online and by mail, typically taking 10-15 minutes (longer if a notarized spousal waiver is needed). Trust funding is also available, allowing families to name a trust as the beneficiary of retirement accounts.
Paychex 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, fund a trust online, and review 9 account types at Paychex.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
8-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Frequently asked questions
Yes, for married participants. Form RS0016 states that "All married individuals will have one primary beneficiary unless the Spousal Waiver section is completed and notarized" -- and that one primary beneficiary is the spouse. To make a trust (or anyone else) the primary beneficiary instead, your spouse must sign the Spousal Waiver on RS0016 in the presence of a notary public. This cannot be done electronically, so even if you manage beneficiaries online in Paychex Flex, a non-spouse primary designation still needs the notarized paper waiver. RS0016 also warns that if you are unmarried when you sign and later marry, your new spouse automatically becomes primary beneficiary unless you file a new form with consent.
Sources
Data sourced from Paychex primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Paychex Support
Paychex Support
Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions
Paychex Retirement Services, Attn: Loans and Distributions, 1175 John Street, West Henrietta, NY 14586
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Paychex accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
