Happy New Year, I am excited about the future and look forward to all that the year can offer. The first quarter is often the time that we all have our personal finances at the top of mind. With new employer benefits taking effect for the year, as well as preparing for filing personal tax returns, January is also a good time to review an item that is usually overlooked. That item is the beneficiary form on your retirement account at work.
As you are aware, changes occur in our lives such as marriage, divorce, births and deaths, so it is important that the beneficiary designated on your account is up to date. I found this article and although it was published in April of 2018, the information is still very relevant. In the article, it references a 2009 Supreme Court judgment which was very eye opening. If you are an employer and have a retirement plan, please take a moment to remind your employees to update their beneficiary form. As an employee, please make a habit of reviewing your beneficiary information and update it to state the person you intend If you are one of those employees try to make this a habit to ensure the account goes to the person you intended.
If you have any questions or would like to review your plan to ensure you are meeting your fiduciary responsibilities, please give me a call.
Out-of-Date Beneficiary Designations are a Common and Costly Mistake
Article from CNBC.com
When is the last time you updated your beneficiary designations? It’s truly amazing the amount of people who have prior spouses or deceased relatives still named as a beneficiary on a retirement account at a former employer, or on a life insurance policy purchased long ago. Click here to continue reading this article.
Blog by Alex Kiritschenko – Financial Advisor, Senior Tax Professional
Learn more about Alex and the rest of the Storen Financial team here.