Designating a Beneficiary

You can name any living person or an entity such as an eligible trust or charity as your beneficiary.

Upon your death, your named beneficiary is eligible for a lump-sum payment of any retirement contributions and interest in your member contribution account and any life insurance benefits you may have. You can name the same individual to receive both payments or a different individual for each payment.

You can name more than one primary beneficiary. Upon your death, each primary beneficiary receives a share of any retirement contributions and interest in your member contribution account and any life insurance benefits you may have, depending on how you designate your primary beneficiaries for each payment.

You can name a contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries. If your primary beneficiary or beneficiaries are deceased at the time of your death, your contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries receive benefit payments according to your designation.

Submit a Designation of Beneficiary-Continuation (VRS-2A) 29kb with the VRS-2 if you wish to name more than four beneficiaries.

VRS is required by law to pay benefits according to the latest beneficiary designation in your VRS record. Review your beneficiary designation after a personal milestone such as a change in marital status, the birth or adoption of a child or as you near retirement. To change your beneficiary, submit a new Designation of Beneficiary (VRS-2) 51kb to VRS as soon as possible. If you cannot remember your designation, submit a VRS-2 or write to Minnesota Life, P.O. Box 1193, Richmond, VA 23218-1193. Neither VRS nor Minnesota Life can provide your designation over the phone.

If there is no valid beneficiary designation on file or your beneficiary is deceased at the time of your death, VRS will pay benefits according to the following order of precedence, as required by law:

Note: The Designation of Beneficiary (VRS-2) 51kb allows you to elect the order of precedence instead of designating a beneficiary.

1. First, to your spouse.
2. If no spouse, to your natural or legally adopted children and descendants of your deceased natural or legally adopted children.
3. If none of the above, to your parents equally or to the surviving parent.
4. If none of the above, to the duly appointed executor or administrator of your estate.
5. If none of the above, to your next of kin under the laws of the state where you resided at the time of your death.

For more information, contact: