Designating beneficiaries can be, well, morbid. But it's a really important step when you have financial assets. Our quiz takes a light-hearted spin on things, using tv characters for the scenarios. And don't worry about spoiler alerts, the scenarios are fictional as well. Ready? Give it a try! Homer included beneficiaries for his life insurance and his IRA, but never designated a beneficiary on his 401(k). Doh! If he were to pass away, what happens to the assets in his 401(k)? Deselect Answer They default to his boss. And Smithers. They are equally distributed to his 3 children. As he's married, they default to his wife. They are allocated in the same manner as he indicated on his life insurance and IRA. None George is single. He wants to designate his favorite charity, the Human Fund, as the beneficiary of his account. Can he do that? Deselect Answer Yes, charities can be beneficiaries of Workplace Retirement Plans. No, a beneficiary needs to be a person. None Mike and Carole are married; it's the second marriage for both. As much as Mike loves Carole and her three lovely girls, he wants to designate his three boys to receive his 401(k). Can he do that? Deselect Answer No. The account needs to go to his wife because he's married. No. The account automatically defaults to Alice as she's known Mike the longest. Yes. As long as Carole approves. None Sklyar is married to Walter and they have two children. She designated Walter as the primary beneficiary and the two children as secondary beneficiaries. If Walter and Skyler were to both pass away, what happens to her 401(k) assets? Deselect Answer They default to the beneficiaries that Walter designated for his 403(b). They default to the secondary beneficiaries, the children. The assets stay with the employer. Ugh, Ted. They go to probate. None When Dorothy opened her 403(b) account, she indicated her husband, Stanley, as the primary beneficiary. Since then, Dorothy and Stanley have separated but she never updated her beneficiaries. If Dorothy were to pass away, who would receive her 403(b) assets? Deselect Answer Stanley, as he's listed as the beneficiary. Her children, as they're the next of kin. Her mother, as they reside at the same address. The assets go to probate as she and Stanley are separated. None Rebecca wants to include her three adult children as beneficiaries. Randall, Kevin, and Kate also have children. How can Rebecca designate her beneficiaries to ensure that her grandchildren would receive a portion of the account if their parent passed away prior to Rebecca? Deselect Answer Rebecca should indicate Per Capita on her beneficiary designation. Rebecca should indicate Per Stirpes on her beneficiary designation. Rebecca should sit down with her children and let them know her preferences. None The most important quiz question: Do you have your beneficiaries established? Deselect Answer Yes, of course! Um, I think so? Uh, no. None Please type the characters below. 1 out of 2 The most important quiz question: Do you have your beneficiaries established? If you answered no, it's time to change that! After logging into your account, select My Profile then Beneficiaries. Time's up
