Section 2700.415  Designation of Beneficiary

a)         A Participant may designate a Beneficiary or Beneficiaries who shall receive any balance in the Participant's Deferred Compensation Account in the event of the Participant's death.

b)         A designation of Beneficiary shall be effective for subsequent distributions when received by the Department or the Recordkeeper.  The designation shall be provided in a manner prescribed by the Department and Recordkeeper.

c)         A Participant may, at any time, change their Beneficiary in a format prescribed by the Department and Recordkeeper on the Recordkeeper's website or a Participant may call the Recordkeeper to request a paper form.

d)         No Beneficiary shall have any rights under this Plan until the death of the Participant who has designated the Beneficiary and a separate account has been established by the Recordkeeper. 

e)         Participants may designate primary and contingent Beneficiaries.  A contingent Beneficiary's interest shall become effective only upon the death of any and all primary Beneficiaries, or if any and all of the primary Beneficiary designations have been found invalid.

f)         If more than one Beneficiary is named in either category, benefits shall be paid according to the following:

1)         Beneficiaries can be designated to share equally or to receive specific percentages.

2)         If a Beneficiary dies before the Participant, only the surviving Beneficiaries shall be eligible to receive any benefits in the event of the death of the Participant.  If more than two Beneficiaries are originally named to receive different percentages of the benefits, surviving Beneficiaries shall share in the same proportion to each other as indicated in the original designation.

g)         A person, trust, estate or other legal entity may be designated as a Beneficiary.

h)         If a Beneficiary has not been designated, or a designation is ineffective due to the death of all Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries prior to the death of the Participant, or the designation is ineffective for any reason, the estate of the Participant shall be the Beneficiary.

i)          Upon the death of the Participant, any Beneficiary entitled to the value of the Deferred Compensation Account under the provisions of this Section shall become a "vested Beneficiary" and have all the rights of the Participant, with the exception of making any deferrals or applying for a Loan under the Plan.

j)          Before the account can be distributed, the Beneficiary must provide the Department or the Recordkeeper with their Social Security Number and a certified copy of the Participant's death certificate.

k)         In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Section and any annuity contract purchased prior to January 1, 1999, this Section shall prevail.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 12412, effective August 4, 2023)