How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Voya
Beneficiaries are managed online or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken by mail
Estate planning for Voya retirement retirement accounts revolves around beneficiary designations. These designations—not a will—control who receives the account balance at death. For IRAs and employer-sponsored plans, the beneficiary designation also determines the tax treatment of inherited distributions, making it a decision with both legal and financial implications.
Voya has 12 product types, and the estate transfer rules differ across them. Some support beneficiary designations on tax-advantaged accounts, some can be retitled into a trust, and others pass through the estate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
Beneficiary form at Voya
Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834) (for life insurance policys) and The plan's beneficiary form (for employer retirement plans).
Open the form →- Log in to the retirement account and select your name in the top right corner
- Under Personal Information, find Beneficiary Information, select the plan account, and click Add/Edit
- Confirm marital status and enter the requested information (items marked with an asterisk are required)
- Save, then submit; a confirmation screen shows the beneficiary designation(s)
- If married and naming anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary, the paper form in the Forms section is required
- Download the plan's beneficiary form from Plan Details > Forms on the participant website
- Voya's plan beneficiary form directs anyone naming an estate or trust as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator
- Complete the Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834) for group or individual life policies issued by ReliaStar
- The plan administrator sends the form to the Company for approval if the wording differs from the form's suggested designations or the policy has been assigned
- The form also goes to the Company for approval if the previous beneficiary is irrevocable or the coverage is under an individual policy
- ReliaStar Administrative Office: PO Box 20, Minneapolis, MN 55440
- Questions about group life benefits: Group Life and Disability customer service, 800-955-7736
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's Social Security number, date of birth, mailing address and percentage (for a new beneficiary on a workplace retirement plan account)
- Beneficiary's full name, or the full trust name (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's address and phone (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's birth date, or the trust date (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's Social Security number or TIN (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the insured (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- The plan's paper beneficiary form, completed (when a married participant names anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary)
- Log in to the retirement account and select your name in the top right corner
- Under Personal Information, find Beneficiary Information, select the plan account, and click Add/Edit
- Confirm marital status and enter the requested information (items marked with an asterisk are required)
- Save, then submit; a confirmation screen shows the beneficiary designation(s)
- If married and naming anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary, the paper form in the Forms section is required
- Download the plan's beneficiary form from Plan Details > Forms on the participant website
- Voya's plan beneficiary form directs anyone naming an estate or trust as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator
- Complete the Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834) for group or individual life policies issued by ReliaStar
- The plan administrator sends the form to the Company for approval if the wording differs from the form's suggested designations or the policy has been assigned
- The form also goes to the Company for approval if the previous beneficiary is irrevocable or the coverage is under an individual policy
- ReliaStar Administrative Office: PO Box 20, Minneapolis, MN 55440
- Questions about group life benefits: Group Life and Disability customer service, 800-955-7736
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's Social Security number, date of birth, mailing address and percentage (for a new beneficiary on a workplace retirement plan account)
- Beneficiary's full name, or the full trust name (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's address and phone (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's birth date, or the trust date (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's Social Security number or TIN (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the insured (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- The plan's paper beneficiary form, completed (when a married participant names anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary)
- Log in to the retirement account and select your name in the top right corner
- Under Personal Information, find Beneficiary Information, select the plan account, and click Add/Edit
- Confirm marital status and enter the requested information (items marked with an asterisk are required)
- Save, then submit; a confirmation screen shows the beneficiary designation(s)
- If married and naming anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary, the paper form in the Forms section is required
- Download the plan's beneficiary form from Plan Details > Forms on the participant website
- Voya's plan beneficiary form directs anyone naming an estate or trust as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator
- Complete the Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834) for group or individual life policies issued by ReliaStar
- The plan administrator sends the form to the Company for approval if the wording differs from the form's suggested designations or the policy has been assigned
- The form also goes to the Company for approval if the previous beneficiary is irrevocable or the coverage is under an individual policy
- ReliaStar Administrative Office: PO Box 20, Minneapolis, MN 55440
- Questions about group life benefits: Group Life and Disability customer service, 800-955-7736
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's Social Security number, date of birth, mailing address and percentage (for a new beneficiary on a workplace retirement plan account)
- Beneficiary's full name, or the full trust name (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's address and phone (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's birth date, or the trust date (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's Social Security number or TIN (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the insured (on the ReliaStar Beneficiary Designation Request)
- The plan's paper beneficiary form, completed (when a married participant names anyone other than the spouse as sole beneficiary)
- Use the plan's paper beneficiary form from Plan Details > Forms on the participant website
- Voya's plan beneficiary form directs anyone naming a trust as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator
- Use the Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834); enter the full trust name and trust date, the trust TIN, and the percentage
- Questions about group life benefits: Group Life and Disability customer service, 800-955-7736
- Complete the Absolute Assignment of Group Life Insurance (Order #114865) and return it to the plan's Customer Service (PO Box 20, Minneapolis, MN 55440; phone 800-955-7736; fax 860-607-5401)
- Do not return the certificate with the request
- The current owner and the assignee both sign; the assignee's SSN/TIN and physical address are required
Required Documents
- Plan beneficiary form (to name a trust as beneficiary of a workplace retirement plan account). From Plan Details > Forms on the participant website
- Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834) (to name a trust as beneficiary of a ReliaStar group or individual life policy). Enter the full trust name and trust date, the trust TIN, and the percentage
- Absolute Assignment of Group Life Insurance (Order #114865) (to assign group life coverage to an ILIT). Signed by the owner and the assignee
- Assignee's SSN or TIN and physical address (for an assignment of group life coverage)
What Voya says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Voya's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary1
- Employer retirement plan
If married, the spouse must be the sole beneficiary to complete the designation online. Naming anyone else requires the plan's paper form.1
Who can be named2
- A trust, employer retirement plans
Voya's plan beneficiary form directs participants naming a trust as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator.2
- The estate, employer retirement plans
Voya's plan beneficiary form directs participants naming an estate as beneficiary to contact the Plan Administrator.2
- A trust, life insurance policys
The ReliaStar form suggests this trust wording: "The [name] Trust Company, trustee under written trust agreement date [date], or its successor or successors in trust."3
- The estate, life insurance policys
An estate is named on the ReliaStar form by specifying whose estate, such as "Estate of the Insured".3
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
What a designation takes to be effective
- Employer retirement plan
Voya states that for married couples with a 401(k) or similar workplace plan, the spouse is the primary beneficiary by default unless a signed waiver is in place.4
- Life insurance policy
The owner signs and dates the ReliaStar form. A previously named irrevocable beneficiary must also sign.3
ReliaStar does not require spousal consent for a beneficiary designation. The form suggests obtaining it when an insured in a community property state changes the beneficiary from the spouse.3
Beneficiary forms Voya issues2
- Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834)
For life insurance policys. Completed by the owner. Available to download.3, 5
- The plan's beneficiary form
For employer retirement plans. Completed online.1
What Voya's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- No beneficiary survives
Under the Voya Select Advantage IRA, if all beneficiaries die first or no designation is in effect, the owner's estate or legal successor is deemed the primary beneficiary.6
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Life insurance policy
If a ReliaStar group life policy is owned by a "Funded ERISA Plan," the assignment form says to contact Customer Service for additional information.7
Trust account forms Voya issues2
- Absolute Assignment of Group Life Insurance (Order #114865)
For life insurance policys. Completed by the current owner and the assignee. Available to download.7
Return to
- Absolute Assignment form for individual term life policies issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company
For life insurance policys. Available to download.8
What Voya says about trust accounts3
- A trust as owner of a policy
If the assignee is an ILIT, the beneficiary designation automatically changes to the trust unless the exception box is checked to keep the present designation.7
For ReliaStar group life, the Absolute Assignment of Group Life Insurance transfers all incidents of ownership to the assignee.7
- When a designation takes effect
The assignment takes effect on the date it is signed but does not apply to any payment made or action taken before it is recorded.7
- What the owner keeps while living
Once an assignment is made, only the assignee can change beneficiaries, assign, or apply for conversion.7
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- ReliaStar Life Insurance Company
Group and individual life policies, with ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York3
Mailing address: ReliaStar Administrative Office, PO Box 20, Minneapolis, MN 55440
Not in Voya's published guidance2
- A procedure for holding an account in a trust, for retirement accounts
- A procedure for holding an account in a trust, for deposit accounts
Sources8
- 1.How to name your beneficiary online
- 2.Plan beneficiary form
- 3.Beneficiary Designation Request (Order #114834)
- 4.Beneficiary basics
- 5.Forms library for employers
- 6.Voya Select Advantage IRA disclosure statement
- 7.Absolute Assignment of Group Life Insurance (Order #114865)
- 8.Forms library for employers: assignment forms
Sources
Data sourced from Voya primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Voya instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Voya primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Voya estate support
Existing Plan Participants (Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company)
Phone
Toll-free
Enroll in Your Employer's Plan
Group Life and Disability Customers (benefits and claims)
Supplemental Health Benefits Customers
Health Account Solutions Customers (HSA, FSA)
Fixed/Variable Account Holders
Voya Investment Management Shareholder Services
Voya Financial Advisors
Resolution Life Policy Owner Customer Service
Hours
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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