- 1). Contact people who you know and trust. A beneficiary is, ideally, someone who is a family member, such as a spouse or your children. Additionally, you may designate a charity or close friends if there are no other family members who you would like to leave your retirement funds to.
- 2). Fill out the paperwork to designate your beneficiary. You must complete beneficiary paperwork that is available from your custodian. A custodian is the bank, insurance company or brokerage where the IRA is held. Write down your IRA account number, the names and addresses of the beneficiaries who you have chosen and some way to contact them after you die.
- 3). Verify your beneficiaries once you have submitted the paperwork. Also, inform your beneficiaries that they have been named as heirs to your IRA. Otherwise, they may not have an opportunity to seek a claim after your death, and your IRA money could be transferred to your state's unclaimed funds office. This also can happen if your heirs move and the contact information you've provided to your custodian is inaccurate.
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