TRS staff outlines common mistakes that cause beneficiary designation forms to be rejected

A Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) staff member reviewed common errors that cause beneficiary designation forms to be rejected and explained how members can submit a valid form.

The staff member said, "The beneficiary designation form requires an original member wet signature. Electronic signatures are not accepted." They added that any alterations must be initialed and that members should complete the form as neatly as possible to avoid rejection.

The presentation detailed several specific rules: do not use electronic or photocopied signatures; if you initial any cross-outs, white-outs or overwrites, the initials must appear next to the change; do not complete conflicting sections (for example, selecting automatic designation in section 3 and also listing beneficiaries in sections 4 or 5); and do not attempt to designate uneven splits — if benefits are paid to more than one beneficiary the payable amount will be split evenly.

TRS allows up to three primary and three alternate beneficiaries per benefit type on the form. If members wish to name more than three beneficiaries in a section, the staff member said to attach an additional sheet that includes the required information, the member's signature and date, and either the last four digits of the member's Social Security number or the TRS member ID. The speaker also warned that an outdated form will be rejected and that members should only use a form with their preprinted member information in section 1.

For members making changes to an existing designation, the staff member instructed that TRS does not refer to previous forms to fill in missing information; instead, submit a new, fully completed form so the new submission supersedes prior elections. Members may designate primary and alternate beneficiaries but not tertiary beneficiaries.

The staff member noted that forms may be printed from a myTRSIL online account or requested by phone or email, and provided contact information for questions. "If you have any questions about death benefits or how to complete the beneficiary designation form, please contact TRS at (877) 927-5877 or via email at members@trsil.org," the speaker said.

The guidance is intended to reduce processing delays that occur when forms are incomplete, altered without initials, or use nonaccepted signature methods. Members who are unsure whether their form is current or correctly filled out were directed to obtain a new form from TRS and to include the requested identifying details on any attachments.