N.J. Admin. Code § 17:7-22.5

Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 1, January 6, 2025

Section 17:7-22.5 - Lack of beneficiary designation

(a) If a participant failed to designate a beneficiary (including a failure because the participant's beneficiary designation is invalid or ineffective) or no beneficiary designated by the participant is living or exists when the distribution otherwise would become payable, then the participant's estate is the beneficiary to the extent of the failure or invalid or ineffective designation. For the purposes of this subsection, the Plan Administrator may rely on an appropriate court order or the personal representative's written statement as to the identity (including name, address, and taxpayer identifying number under IRC § 6109) of and shares allocable to the persons entitled to such estate.

(b) Invalid designations include any document that contains:

1. Provisions that have been crossed out;

2. Provisions that have been whited out;

3. Provisions completed in pencil;

4. Provisions that list the same individual(s) as both the primary and contingent beneficiary;

5. Provisions that use nicknames; the beneficiary's legal name must be provided;

6. Provisions that use general terms, like "my children" or "my grandchildren"; the specific name of each individual beneficiary must be listed;

7. In cases where a participant provides a distribution using specific percentages, provisions that do not add up to 100 percent; and

8. In cases where the participant provides a distribution using specific fractions, provisions that do not add up to one.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:7-22.5

Adopted by 47 N.J.R. 905(b), effective 5/4/2015.