Here you can review and manage your beneficiaries and their designations for the QPP, traditional TDA, and Roth accounts you have with TRS. You should update this section when necessary to ensure the beneficiary information you have on file is current.

Click on one of the three tabs for a list of beneficiaries for that account—QPP Designations, Traditional TDA Designations, or Roth Designations. (Only the accounts you are enrolled in will appear.) Click on the beneficiary’s name for the Beneficiary Details page.

Beneficiary Profiles

To update a beneficiary’s profile, you must first remove the benefits assigned to that beneficiary by clicking the “Manage Beneficiaries” button in the correct account tab. When you return to the Beneficiary Profiles tab, you will see an orange “Remove” button next to the beneficiary. Clicking “Remove” will permanently delete that beneficiary from your list.

Manage Beneficiaries: Enables you to make changes to the benefits designated for a beneficiary or add a new beneficiary. Do not attempt to use the Beneficiary Profiles tab for these purposes.

Copy to QPP/Copy to TDA/Copy to Roth: Allows you to copy your entire beneficiary list from one plan to the other (i.e., QPP to TDA/TDA to QPP/QPP or TDA to Roth, etc.). (Only available for active members.)

Here are some general rules and conditions regarding beneficiaries:

• You must have at least one Primary Beneficiary on file. TRS will default your beneficiary designation to your “Estate” if no designation is indicated.
• If your beneficiaries for your QPP traditional TDA, and/or Roth account are based on an affidavit, any online designation will supersede the designation from the affidavit and it will no longer be valid.
• If you are a retiree who elected a continuing payment option at retirement, your primary beneficiary cannot be changed. You will be able to update contact information only.
• If there is a court order on file, you will not be able to update the beneficiary identified in the court order. However, any other beneficiaries can be added and/or updated.
• If you are designating an individual as a beneficiary, providing both your beneficiary’s Social Security number and Date of Birth will help TRS process any future benefits due in a timely manner.
• If you recently filed beneficiary information with TRS (e.g., an addition or a change) and it does not appear in this section, it is still being processed and can be viewed once processing is completed.
• If you recently designated a trust as a beneficiary, but did not provide the required trust verification documentation, your new designation will not appear or be effective until we receive the documentation.

Definitions of key terms used in this section

Level: A level of 1 indicates a primary beneficiary who would be eligible for payment after your death. A contingency level of 2 indicates a secondary beneficiary who would be eligible for payment only if all the primary beneficiaries at level 1 have predeceased you. Similarly, beneficiaries with contingency levels greater than 2 (e.g., 3) would be eligible for payment only if all beneficiaries at previous levels have predeceased you.

Share: This figure is the percentage of your death benefit that you elected for your beneficiary to receive. "Equal" would appear if you designated that all of your beneficiaries on the same contingency level share the payment equally. Please note that, if you designated specific percentages for your beneficiaries, they cannot receive more than the percentage you have chosen for them to receive. Therefore, if a beneficiary predeceases you, all surviving beneficiaries at the same contingency level would be eligible for only the percentage you had indicated. The percentage assigned to the deceased beneficiary would not be split among other beneficiaries; it would be payable to your estate.

For more information about beneficiary designations, please refer to the FAQs on our website in the Beneficiary Designation category and to our brochures Guide to Death Benefits for Beneficiaries of Non-Retired Members and Guide to Death Benefits for Beneficiaries of Retired Members.

Uploading Supporting Documentation for Trust Beneficiary Designations

TRS requires that you file a Verification of Trust Instrument Legality form (code EN4) for any trust beneficiary you want to designate. You may also be asked to provide TRS with a copy of the trust or other information TRS considers necessary to administer payments to a trust beneficiary. You may either upload this documentation or mail it to TRS.

See the Supporting Documents screen for file requirements. The required documents you must provide will be indicated on the screen.

If you are not able to upload your documentation at this time, click the checkbox labeled "I will upload document(s) later or send via mail." and then submit your request. You will be able to return and upload files at a later time, or you can mail your documents to TRS.