Electing Your Beneficiaries

Most employees fail to realize the many different beneficiaries they should elect during their employment at the State.  The most common beneficiary we think of is for our life insurance, but did you know as an employee at the State of Tennessee you should also elect beneficiaries for your 401K, retirement, and even your leave balances and last wages paid?  You can elect one person to be the beneficiary for all, or you can elect different people for different benefits. 

The Department of Finance and Administration Human Resource Office would like to help ensure your beneficiaries are updated.  The forms listed below can assist you in making changes.

1. Beneficiary Form Checklist – this form lists all of the possible beneficiaries you may need to elect
2. Basic Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations Application – this form is for electing a beneficiary that will receive your life insurance.  To view who you currently have designated as your beneficiary, go to:
   1. Edison > Employee Self Service > Benefits > Dependents and Beneficiaries > Life Insurance Beneficiaries (view all three tabs)
3. Beneficiary Designation for Leave Balances and Last Wages – this form is used to designate who will receive any last wages you may have or will receive the pay out of your leave balances.  If this beneficiary is not elected separately, it will default to the beneficiary that you elected for your TCRS.   
4. TCRS Selecting a Beneficiary Guide – treasury.tn.gov/retirement/information-and-resources/update-your-beneficiaries
5. 401K – You should contact Empower to elect or change 401K beneficiaries at (800) 922-7772.
6. To update your beneficiaries for other plans, please see the list below:
   1. Voluntary Term Life (Minnesota Life) - www.LifeBenefits.com/StateofTN or 1-866-881-0631
   2. Voluntary Universal Life (UNUM) - 1-866-298-7636
   3. Southeast Financial Credit Union - https://www.southeastfinancial.org/

As we all experience life-changing events, it can be challenging to keep up with all of the paperwork we need to complete.  If you’ve experienced an event and feel you need to review your beneficiaries you can complete the attached forms and send them to Denise Bearden (the F&A Agency Benefits Coordinator) or call/email her with any questions at 615-532-8335 or denise.bearden@tn.gov.