Designating Your Beneficiaries

One of the most important decisions for your retirement plan accounts is designating your beneficiaries. In the event of your death, your designated beneficiaries can file a claim directly with TIAA. If you do not designate beneficiaries, your accounts would instead become part of your estate and be distributed through probate, which may not reflect your wishes.

Learn why beneficiary designations matter in this brief TIAA article and video.

You must designate beneficiaries separately for each of the three plans—Basic, Matching, and Supplemental. For example, if you name a beneficiary for your Basic Plan only, that designation does not apply to the Matching or Supplemental Plans; those accounts would go to your estate. Likewise, beneficiary designations for retirement plans and life insurance are separate and do not apply to each other. You can update your retirement plan beneficiaries at any time.

To designate or update your retirement plan beneficiaries, follow these steps:

• Log in at TIAA.org
• At the top of the page, click Accounts to open the Quick Links menu.
• Under Quick Links, select View All Actions.
• Under Top Actions, click Beneficiaries.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Help Is Available

If you have questions about making selections that best reflect your wishes, contact the Penn Retirement Call Center at (877) 736-6738. You can also schedule a TIAA Retirement Plan consultation online at TIAA.org/schedulenow or by calling 800-732-8353 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.