Beneficiary Designation Form Guidelines and FAQs

Review your beneficiaries and your needs regularly. Birth, death, marriage, and divorce are all common life situations that can change how you want your beneficiary designation structured. Update your beneficiary designation forms as a life change occurs. Choose the form that applies to you:

Beneficiary Designation (ET-2320) – Allows you to name primary and secondary beneficiaries.
Beneficiary Designation – Alternate (ET-2321) – Allows you to name primary and secondary with an alternate beneficiary for each.

Guidelines

Because the beneficiary designation is a legal document, it is essential that you complete it accurately and ensure it is legible. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when entering your information:

Please read the directions included with the form and follow the template provided for the scenario that best fits your circumstances.
ETF is the best place to get your questions answered about our beneficiary designation form.
Submit the original form to ETF. Once the form is approved by ETF, we will send you a confirmation letter. The form can be faxed, we do not have to have the original signed copy.
Sign and date the form.
Name only living persons as beneficiaries, unless you are naming a trust, your estate or an organization.
Do not name the same person or organization as both a primary and secondary beneficiary.
Do not use the word “or” when designating multiple beneficiaries.
Do not impose any conditions on payment. Your designation will be rejected.
Do not write in the margins of the form.
Do not make any changes to the form. Your designation will be rejected.
Do not name yourself as your beneficiary.
Do not number your beneficiaries.

Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Program Participants: Please note that the WDC’s beneficiary designation is different than your WRS beneficiary designations; updating one never updates the other. You should be sure both are current. Contact the WDC at 1-877-457-9327 for more information or log in to your account. After you've logged in, you will be taken to the My Beneficiaries page to make updates

WDC beneficiary designation to download a copy of the WDC beneficiary designation. ETF cannot answer questions about WDC beneficiary designations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Naming beneficiaries of your eligible WRS benefits is one of your prime opportunities to pass a financial interest to your loved ones after you’re gone. The beneficiary designation in your Wisconsin Retirement System file at the time of your death is binding in the payment of your WRS benefits. If you haven’t named a beneficiary, your account will be paid out according to Wisconsin law.
If you don’t file a beneficiary designation with ETF, your benefits will be paid out in the order called “standard sequence” which is part of Wisconsin law. Payment is made to the person or persons in the lowest numbered group that contains one or more living persons.

Group 1. Your surviving spouse or domestic partner.

Group 2. Your children (biological or legally adopted). If one of your children dies before you, that child’s share is divided among that deceased child’s children.

Group 3. Your parent(s)

Group 4. Your brother(s) and sister(s). If one of your siblings dies before you, that sibling’s share is divided between your deceased sibling’s children.

If there are no survivors in Groups 1 through 4, any death benefits will be paid to your estate.
No, WRS benefits are governed by the Wisconsin statutes. ETF cannot distribute them according to anything other than a beneficiary designation.
The only way to name beneficiaries for your WRS account or your Wisconsin Public Employers Life Insurance is by completing ETF’s beneficiary designation forms.

There are two beneficiary designation forms:
- The basic Beneficiary Designation (ET-2320) allows you to name primary and secondary beneficiaries.
- The Beneficiary Designation - Alternate (ET-2321) allows you to name primary and secondary beneficiaries. You can also name specific successors to those beneficiaries.
Beneficiary forms must be filled out as clearly and completely as possible in order to carry out your wishes after your death. If you have questions about which beneficiary designation form best suits your needs, please contact ETF.
Yes, you can name different beneficiaries for these two accounts. You must complete a separate beneficiary designation for each account. The beneficiary designation form has a section in which you can specify these choices, which is located above the box where you sign and date the form.
The beneficiary designation forms allow you to name primary and secondary beneficiaries. Your “primary beneficiaries” are the first people or entities that you want to receive your benefit after you die. If they are all dead (or don’t exist any longer, for a trust or another entity) when you die, your benefit will go to the people or entities you have named as secondary beneficiaries. As long as any primary beneficiaries are still alive when you die, your secondary beneficiaries will not receive any benefit.
Yes. If, for instance, you want to name all of your children as your primary beneficiaries on a particular account, then ETF will distribute your eligible benefit equally among them, unless you specify different percentages.

If you want your two children to share your benefit equally, you can name each child in the "Primary" section of the beneficiary form. If they are both still alive when you die, they will each get half of any death benefit. If one of them has died before you, the other will get the full benefit.

If you want three people to share your benefit equally, you can name each person in the primary section of the beneficiary form. If they are all still alive when you die, they will each get one-third of any death benefit. If one of them has died before you, the other two will each get half of the death benefit.
How your benefit is distributed depends on whether all of your named beneficiaries are still alive when you die, or whether some of them have died before you. The following scenarios assume that you have named three primary beneficiaries and three secondary beneficiaries.

If one of your primary beneficiaries dies before you, your benefit will be divided between your remaining two living primary beneficiaries. None of your secondary beneficiaries will receive anything.

If two of your primary beneficiaries die before you, your remaining primary beneficiary will receive your entire benefit. None of your secondary beneficiaries will receive anything.

If all three primary beneficiaries die before you, then your secondary beneficiaries will receive your benefit. If all three are still living, all three will divide it equally. If two are still living, those two will divide it equally. If only one is still living, that one will receive the entire amount.
No, you can only specify that each beneficiary receives a percentage. The percentages in each section (primary, secondary) must add to 100%.
Yes, you may list a minor child as a beneficiary. However, if at your death, the child is still a minor when you die, ETF will not pay the child directly. ETF will pay the child’s court-appointed guardian, or the person ETF calls the child’s “natural guardian.” This is the person providing for or caring for the child, such as the child’s parent. ETF can also pay into a Uniform Transfer to Minors Account (UTMA) for the child.
You can include children who are not yet born (or adopted) by writing in the following statement:

“I also include as beneficiaries as if each were specifically and individually named herein, any and all of my natural and legally adopted children.”

This will include all marital and non-marital children (if any relevant paternity is established), whether the child’s date of birth is before or after your date of death. You may substitute "grandchildren" for "children" in the above example.

Alternatively, you can submit a new beneficiary designation form to us with any new children. Childbirth or adoption is a great time to review your beneficiary designation.
No, life changes such as marriage or divorce do not automatically change your beneficiaries that you have named on a beneficiary designation. If you have filed a beneficiary designation, the only way to change your beneficiaries is to file a new form with ETF.

If you have named your spouse as your beneficiary, and then you get divorced, they remain your beneficiary until you file a new form with ETF. If you get married, your new spouse does not become your beneficiary until you file a new form with ETF.

If you want your beneficiaries to change with your family circumstances without any action on your part, you have two options.
- You can file a beneficiary designation and write “standard sequence” in the primary designation area. Your benefit will then be paid according to the standard sequence in effect at the time of your death. If you get married or divorced, or have children or other life changes, standard sequence will follow those life changes.
- If you never file a beneficiary designation, your benefit will be paid according to standard sequence at the time of your death.
No, life changes such as childbirth or legally adopting a child do not automatically change your beneficiaries. If you have filed a beneficiary designation form, the only way to change your beneficiaries is to file a new form with ETF.
- If you have a beneficiary designation on file with ETF, and you add a child to your family, you must file a new beneficiary form with ETF in order to add that child.
If you want to make sure that you keep up with anticipated changes to your family status, you can file a form that designates “standard sequence.” This will always keep up with your family changes, although it may delay payment of benefits because we will have to identify and locate the proper recipients of your benefit.
Yes, you can do this by writing “standard sequence” in the primary beneficiary section. Do not write anything else in that section. Your benefit will then be paid according to the standard sequence in effect at the time of your death. If you get married or divorced, or have children or other life changes, standard sequence will follow those life changes.
In order to specify who a primary beneficiary’s share will go to if they die before you do, you’ll need to use the Beneficiary Designation - Alternate (ET-2321). For instance, if you name your three cousins as your primary beneficiaries, you can name the children of each cousin as alternate primary beneficiaries. Then, if one cousin dies before you do, their share will be divided between their children who are named as alternate primary beneficiaries.
Yes. Your trust is a legal entity which can be named as your beneficiary.

If you name a trust as a beneficiary, you must provide ETF with enough information that ETF can find and identify the trust at the time of payment to the trust. You must provide the following information on the beneficiary designation:
- The full name of the trust as it shows on the trust document. The trust's name must be listed first to show that it is the named beneficiary.
- The date the trust was created
- The name of the trustee, followed by the word “trustee,” or if you cannot provide a trustee, ETF may accept another contact person
- The trustee’s (or other contact’s) address
- If you are the trustee of your own trust, you must provide the name and address of a successor trustee (or other contact) for us to contact after your death.
- The purpose of including the trustee’s name is to give ETF the name of a person to contact after your death, in order to locate the trust. ETF may reject your designation if a trust is named as a secondary beneficiary and you have named as trustee a person who is named as a primary beneficiary. In that case, please provide a successor trustee or other contact person.
Example of an acceptable trust designation:

The Appletree Family Revocable Trust, created May 4, 2020, Jane Smith, Trustee, 123 Maple St, Anywhere, WI. name and address of successor trustee (if necessary)

If you name a trust as your beneficiary, please do not include any trust paperwork along with your beneficiary form. ETF does not need this paperwork at this time.
Your testamentary trust is created by your last will and testament, and does not come into existence until after your death.

You must provide ETF with enough information that ETF can find and identify the trust at the time of payment to the trust. You must provide the following information on the beneficiary designation:
1. The name of the trust (this must be listed first) - if the trust under the will doesn’t yet have a name, please provide enough information so that we can identify the trust at a future date by using the phrase: “trust for the benefit of [insert name of beneficiary[s]] or trust under article 'x' of my will created under my last will and testament”;
2. The words “created under my last will and Testament”’ (do not include a date created);
3. The name of the trustee, followed by the word “trustee,” or if you cannot provide a trustee, ETF may accept another contact person;
4. The trustee’s (or other contact's) address and phone number.
The purpose of including the trustee’s name is to give ETF the name of a person to contact after your death, in order to locate the trust. ETF may reject your designation if a trust is named as a secondary beneficiary and you have named as trustee a person who is named as a primary beneficiary. In that case, please provide a successor trustee or other contact person.

You can name your own testamentary trust as your beneficiary by including it on the beneficiary form in the following format. You cannot name someone else’s testamentary trust.

Amy Appletree Testamentary Trust, created under my last will and testament. Dennis Appletree, trustee, 127 Oak St., Dogwood, WI 53211, 608-xxx-xxxx
Yes, you may name a subtrust as a beneficiary.

If you name a subtrust as a beneficiary, you must provide ETF with enough information so that ETF can identify the subtrust at the time of payment. You must provide the following information on the beneficiary designation:
- The full name of the subtrust and the trust as they show on the trust document. The subtrust's name must be listed first to show that it is the named beneficiary. If the subtrust under the main trust doesn’t yet have a name, please provide enough information so that we can identify the subtrust at a future date by using the phrase: “subtrust for the benefit of [insert name of beneficiary[s]] or subtrust under article 'x' of my [main trust name] trust”
- The date the main trust was created
- The name of the trustee, followed by the word “trustee,” or if you cannot provide a trustee, ETF may accept another contact person
- The trustee’s (or other contact's) address
- If you or your spouse/domestic partner are the trustee of your own trust, you must provide the name and address of a successor trustee (or other contact) for us to contact after your death.
- The purpose of including the trustee’s name is to give ETF the name of a person to contact after your death, in order to locate the trust. ETF may reject your designation if a trust is named as a secondary beneficiary and you have named as trustee a person who is named as a primary beneficiary. In that case, please provide a successor trustee or other contact person.
Example of an acceptable subtrust designation:

Davis-Dogwood Children’s Trust created under the Davis-Dogwood Revocable Trust dated 01/23/2020, Jane Smith, Trustee, 123 Maple St, Anywhere, WI. name and address of successor trustee (if necessary)
Yes, these are all legal entities which you may name as beneficiaries. Please list the full legal name, tax identification number and current address so that ETF can identify the specific organization that you have named to receive your benefit.
You can change your beneficiaries by filing a new beneficiary form as often as you wish.
While ETF cannot offer advice on this question, it has been our experience that following the instructions on the form and calling us with questions has, in most cases, ended with a beneficiary designation form being accepted.
You can call ETF to ask who your current beneficiaries are. Be sure to have your Member ID or Social Security Number available when you call. Call 1-877-533-5020 (toll-free) or 266-3285 (local Madison).
ETF staff review your form to determine whether it complies with ETF rules and Wisconsin laws. We will follow up with a confirmation letter if your beneficiary designation has been accepted. If your designation has not been accepted, you will receive a beneficiary designation letter which explains the reason(s) we were unable to accept it.