Retirement Plans: Beneficiary Designations
Retirement Plans: Beneficiary Designations
Make sure to designate beneficiaries for your retirement plans, including IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s and the like. Otherwise, the plan will pass to your estate upon your demise. This will produce an unnecessary probate of the plan asset and have potentially negative income tax consequences. Not naming a beneficiary will also disadvantage your ultimate estate beneficiaries in reducing their settlement options.