Alaska Statutes: AS 14.25.450. Designation of Beneficiary.

Alaska Statutes. Title 14. Education, Libraries, and Museums Chapter 25. Teachers' Retirement Section 450. Designation of Beneficiary.

previous: Section 440. Distribution Requirements.
next: Section 460. Rights Under Qualified Domestic Relations Order.

AS 14.25.450. Designation of Beneficiary.

   (a) Each participant shall have the right to designate a beneficiary and shall have the right, at any time, to revoke the designation or to substitute another beneficiary, subject to the following limitation: if a married member elects a nonspouse beneficiary, the value of the benefit payable to the beneficiary may not exceed 50 percent of the member's portion of the account balance, and the member's spouse shall automatically be considered the beneficiary for the remaining 50 percent of the account balance, unless the spouse consents to the beneficiary designation in a writing that is notarized or witnessed by the administrator. If the spouse consents in this manner, a married member may designate a nonspouse beneficiary for the entire benefit or any portion of the benefit as part of an available form of payment contained in this plan,
        (1) except to the extent a qualified domestic relations order filed with the administrator provides for payment to a former spouse or other dependent of the member; or
        (2) unless the member filed a revocation of beneficiary accompanied by a written consent to the revocation from the present spouse and each person entitled under the order; however, consent of the present spouse is not required if the member and the present spouse had been married for less than one year on the date of the member's death and if the member established when filing the revocation that the member and the present spouse were not cohabiting.
   (b) Except as provided in (a) of this section, the member may change or revoke the designation without notice to the beneficiary or beneficiaries at any time. If a member designates more than one beneficiary, each shares equally unless the member specifies a different allocation or preference. The designation of a beneficiary, a change or revocation of a beneficiary, and a consent to revocation of a beneficiary shall be made on a form provided by the administrator and is not effective until filed with the administrator.
   (c) If a member fails to designate a beneficiary, or if no designated beneficiary survives the member, the death benefit shall be paid
        (1) to the surviving spouse or, if there is none surviving;
        (2) to the surviving children of the member in equal parts or, if there are none surviving;
        (3) to the surviving parents in equal parts or, if there are none surviving;
        (4) to the estate.
   (d) A person claiming entitlement to benefits payable under AS 14.25.310 - 14.25.590 as a consequence of a member's death shall provide the administrator with a marriage certificate, divorce or dissolution judgment, or other evidence of entitlement. Documents establishing entitlement may be filed with the administrator immediately after a change in the member's marital status. If the administrator does not receive notification of a claim before the date 10 days after the member's death, the person claiming entitlement is not entitled to receive from the division of retirement and benefits any benefit already paid by the administrator.

This version of the Alaska Statutes is current through December, 2022. The Alaska Statutes were automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, but this can not be guaranteed. If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Statutes be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. For statutes adopted after the effective date of these statutes, see, Alaska State Legislature If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful.