Human Resources suggests employees make beneficiary review an annual to-do list item

Making sure affairs are in order and checking in from time to time is key when it comes to protecting loved ones. Ensuring that beneficiary information is updated is one way to help when it matters most.

Several Purdue benefits provide for beneficiaries in the event of death, so updated information is very important.

Designating beneficiaries ensures that funds are appropriately distributed and not defaulted to the estate. Once designated, it is recommended to review beneficiary designations each year to ensure that no changes are needed.

Benefit programs that require a beneficiary designation are:

• Health savings account (HSA) -- With the switch to HSA Bank, employees can designate a beneficiary while setting up their account at hsabank.com.
• Life insurance -- Accidental death and dismemberment and term life.
• Universal life, critical illness and accident insurance.
• Retirement -- Employees can set beneficiaries for each plan they have.

Employees may follow these instructions to add or update beneficiaries in Benefitfocus at any time throughout the year. For plans outside of Benefitfocus, such as retirement plans through Fidelity and PERF and HSA plans through HSA Bank, instructions are available to update beneficiary records. Fidelity also allows beneficiaries to be added or updated via text message (text CARE to 343898). The new text feature leads directly to the beneficiary page upon login.

On a related note, participants in Fidelity retirement plans who have not named a beneficiary will receive a communication from Fidelity this week encouraging them to do so.

Depending on a participant's communication preferences, those without a beneficiary on file will receive either a letter at their home address or an email from Fidelity with instructions on making beneficiary designations.

For assistance with updating beneficiary records, contact Human Resources at hr@purdue.edu or at 765-494-2222.