What to do when a Paychex account holder dies
Contact Paychex — 8-step process, 6 required documents, and nothing moves until the employer submits rs0084. paychex then mails the distribution election form to the address given in section d of that form. paychex does not publish a processing time for death-benefit distributions.
Paychex Support
Paychex Support
Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions
Paychex Retirement Services, Attn: Loans and Distributions, 1175 John Street, West Henrietta, NY 14586
After an account holder at Paychex dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Paychex's Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions with the proper legal authority documents.
Paychex provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone or by mailing the required documents.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Paychex requires:
Filing a claim
- Paychex is the recordkeeper; the participant's EMPLOYER is the plan administrator and holds the beneficiary form on file
- Notify the deceased participant's employer (HR) of the death. Per the Summary Plan Description, the beneficiary must file a written request for benefits with the Plan Administrator
- The employer determines who the beneficiary is and completes form RS0084, available at https://download.paychex.com/pas_pbs/formfiles/rs0084.pdf
- Married / spousal beneficiary -- the spouse is primary beneficiary by default
- Non-spouse beneficiary -- only if the participant was unmarried at death OR a spousal waiver was executed. The form permits "individuals or revocable trusts," identified by Beneficiary Name (or Trust Name) and Beneficiary SSN (or Trust EIN)
- Payment to the estate -- used when no beneficiary can be identified after diligent effort. Requires the estate's name, the Estate EIN, and the executor/administrator's name
- Section D is where the employer supplies the mailing address, email, and phone for the beneficiary, estate contact, or trustee
- The form states that if no mailing address is provided, Paychex will DEFAULT to sending the paperwork to the participant's address on file -- i.e. to the deceased person's own address
- Give HR the beneficiary's or trustee's current address in writing so the distribution paperwork is not mailed to the decedent
- A surviving spouse may roll the balance over to their own IRA or to an inherited IRA
- A non-spouse designated beneficiary's only rollover option is a DIRECT rollover to an inherited IRA (or an inherited Roth IRA for a designated Roth account), per the Paychex Participant Distribution Notice
- Trust and estate beneficiaries generally cannot roll over and take a lump sum or other plan-permitted payment instead
- Vested balance of $2,000 or less: the Plan Administrator may pay it to you as a lump sum regardless of your election
- Vested balance not more than $7,000: the Plan Administrator may directly roll your eligible rollover distribution into an IRA of the Plan Administrator's choosing
- Vested balance over $7,000: you must consent to the form of payment before it can be paid
Required Documents
- Employer Authorization for Distribution of Death Benefits (RS0084) -- completed and WET-signed by the plan administrator and trustee
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Completed Distribution Election Form (mailed to the beneficiary by Paychex after RS0084 is received)
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust, trust EIN, and trustee ID (if a trust is the beneficiary)
- Estate EIN and executor/administrator name (if benefits are payable to the estate)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
The single most important fact about a Paychex death claim: the beneficiary cannot start it. Paychex is the recordkeeper, and it will not act until the participant's employer (the plan administrator) completes and wet-signs form RS0084 authorizing the distribution. The employer -- not Paychex -- also holds the beneficiary designation form on file, so if the employer has gone out of business, been sold, or lost its records, locating the beneficiary designation becomes the first task. If no beneficiary can be identified after diligent effort, RS0084 lets the employer direct payment to the participant's estate, which requires an Estate EIN and a named executor or administrator, and pulls the account into probate. Paychex does not publish a phone line for Retirement Services -- participant and beneficiary support runs through the Paychex Flex Help Center and its 24/7 chat.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Paychex
Paychex asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Paychex requires.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Paychex: Nothing moves until the employer submits RS0084. Paychex then mails the Distribution Election Form to the address given in Section D of that form. Paychex does not publish a processing time for death-benefit distributions. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by Paychex includes Employer Authorization for Distribution of Death Benefits (RS0084) -- completed and WET-signed by the plan administrator and trustee, Certified copy of the death certificate, and Completed Distribution Election Form (mailed to the beneficiary by Paychex after RS0084 is received), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
No, and this is the most common point of failure. Paychex is the plan's recordkeeper, not the plan sponsor. The deceased participant's EMPLOYER is the plan administrator, and Paychex will not release death-benefit paperwork until the employer completes and signs the Employer Authorization for Distribution of Death Benefits (form RS0084) and sends it to Paychex Retirement Services, Attn: Loans and Distributions, 1175 John Street, West Henrietta, NY 14586, or faxes it to (585) 389-7219. The form requires a wet signature from the plan administrator and trustee -- it explicitly states that digital and electronic signatures are not accepted. Only after Paychex receives that authorization does it mail a Distribution Election Form to the beneficiary. So the first call is to the employer's HR department, not to Paychex.
The employer does. The Paychex Beneficiary Designation Form (RS0016) instructs the participant to "Return this completed form to your employer," and adds that "Employers should keep all beneficiary forms on file." Paychex Flex also accepts beneficiary entries online at paychexflex.com, but the paper record lives with the employer. For an executor this matters: if the employer has been sold, dissolved, or lost its HR records, tracking down the beneficiary designation becomes the first job of the claim, and if no beneficiary can be identified after diligent effort, RS0084 lets the employer direct the benefit to the participant's estate instead -- which requires an Estate EIN and a court-appointed executor or administrator, and pulls the account into probate.
Form RS0016 has no dedicated trust section -- each beneficiary line offers only Relationship (Spouse or Other), Name, Address, SSN, and Share %. Use Paychex's own convention from its death-benefit form RS0084, which labels the equivalent fields "Beneficiary Name (or Trust Name)" and "Beneficiary SSN (or Trust EIN)": check "Other" for relationship, enter the trust's full legal name in the Name field, the trust EIN in the SSN field, and the trustee's mailing address in the Address field. That address matters, because it is where Paychex will mail the distribution paperwork after a death. RS0084 confirms revocable trusts are accepted -- it names "individuals or revocable trusts" as permitted non-spouse beneficiaries.
For small balances, yes. The Paychex Summary Plan Description (Rev. 11/2025) sets three tiers for a deceased participant's vested balance. If it is $2,000 or less, the Plan Administrator has the right to pay the beneficiary a lump sum regardless of what the beneficiary would prefer -- which can trigger immediate taxable income. If it is not more than $7,000, the Plan Administrator may directly roll the eligible rollover distribution into an IRA of the Plan Administrator's own choosing. Only when the balance exceeds $7,000 must the beneficiary consent to the form of payment. Separately, a non-spouse designated beneficiary's only rollover option is a direct rollover to an inherited IRA (or inherited Roth IRA for a designated Roth account); a surviving spouse may instead roll into their own IRA.
Paychex's Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions can be reached by fax at (585) 389-7219 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Paychex retirement accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Paychex Retirement Services - Loans and Distributions to confirm what applies.
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
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