How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Pentegra?

Send it to Pentegra's estate/claims department: Pentegra Trust Company, c/o ASPire, ATTN: Distributions, 4010 Boy Scout Blvd, Suite 450, Tampa, FL 33607 (403(b) death distributions). Beneficiary changes and 403(b) Services: Pentegra Trust Company, c/o Pentegra Retirement Services, ATTN: 403(b) Services, 701 Westchester Avenue, Suite 320E, White Plains, NY 10604.. You can reach the department at 866-634-5873.

Pentegra lists these among its required documents: Completed distribution election form — 403(b) Death Distribution Request Form for Pentegra Trust Company accounts; one per beneficiary; Certified death certificate; Signature guarantee on the death distribution form (Step 7); also required if the check goes to a third-party address; IRS Form W-9 for a beneficiary taking an immediate distribution of their entire interest. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Pentegra's recorded requirements.

The employer/plan administrator notifies the plan, then distribution paperwork goes to each beneficiary; timing depends on the plan and the recordkeeper. Two hard dates matter: separate accounts for multiple beneficiaries must be established by December 31 of the year after the year of death, and a five-year deferment must be completed by December 31 of the year containing the fifth anniversary of the death.

Pentegra provides its own letter-of-instruction form. We complete that official form with your information; you print, sign, and send it.

It depends on the capacity you are acting in. An executor or administrator encloses Letters Testamentary (when there is a will) or Letters of Administration (when there is not); a successor trustee encloses a certificate of trust; a successor under a small estate encloses that state’s small estate affidavit. The prepared letter lists the proof-of-authority document for your role alongside the institution’s required documents.

A letter of instruction is the written request an institution asks for when settling a deceased customer’s account. It identifies the decedent and the account, states the capacity you are acting in, and tells the institution what to do with the account.