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Managing employee beneficiary designations

Managing employee beneficiary designations is the responsibility of both the employer and employee. Make sure your employees understand the importance of keeping their beneficiary designations up to date. Life events such as marriage, divorce, birth, or deaths may require a change in the beneficiary designation.

By implementing good beneficiary management practices, you can ensure that employee beneficiary designations are up to date, accurate, and secure, providing confidence to your employees and their loved ones.

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Best practices for managing and supporting employee beneficiaries

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Help employees designate a beneficiary

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Helpful resources to share with employees

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  • Employee FAQ about choosing a life insurance beneficiary
  • Beneficiary Advocate Program Overview (for groups with Guardian EAP)
  • Beneficiary Advocate Program Toolkit (for groups with Guardian EAP)

1 All whole life insurance policy guarantees are subject to the timely payment of all required premiums and the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Policy loans and withdrawals affect the guarantees by reducing the policy’s death benefit and cash values.

2 Some whole life polices do not have cash values in the first two years of the policy and don’t pay a dividend until the policy’s third year. Talk to your financial representative and refer to your individual whole life policy illustration for more information.

3 The Disability Income and Waiver of Policy Premium Benefit Rider (form ICC21 DIR, DIR (12-2021), or state equivalent) is underwritten and issued by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian®), New York, NY. There will be an additional cost or premium associated with this Rider. Provisions, features, and availability may vary by state. Exclusions and limitations may apply.

This information is being provided based on Guardian’s standard guidelines, and other restrictions or guidelines may apply to your specific plan.

Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents and employees do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult your tax, legal, or accounting professional regarding your individual situation. The information provided is based on our general understanding of the subject matter discussed and is for informational purposes only.

Guardian Group Life Insurance is underwritten and issued by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

The Beneficiary Advocate Program is available through ComPsych GuidanceResources. Eligibility is based on having Guardian life insurance coverage and the Guardian employee assistance program. ComPsych Corporation (ComPsych) is a vendor to The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). ComPsych and Guardian are not affiliated entities. The Employee Assistance Program (Services) is provided by ComPsych. Guardian does not control or provide any part of the Services and does not bear any liability for their provision. This informational resource is not a contract and is for illustrative purposes only. Only the policy contains applicable terms. Guardian and ComPsych reserve the right to discontinue Services at anytime without notice. Services may not be available in all states. Legal/financial assistance and resources services are not available in the states of New York and Hawaii. These Services are permissible in the state of Washington: will preparation services, financial planning and estate planning services, probate and estate settlement services, grief counseling, funeral planning and funeral services. Provision of Services shall be in a manner consistent with applicable law. GUARDIAN® is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® and is used with express permission.

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Guardian® is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

Copyright© 2026 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. All rights reserved.

If you don’t include a beneficiary designation section on your own online or paper enrollment form, you can download a beneficiary designation form from the Guardian forms center.

  1. Go to Guardian Forms and Claims.

  2. Select “Life Insurance” and “Find a form.”

  3. Under “Types of Forms” select “Claim: Life” and download a beneficiary designation form (GG-17).

Key times to remind employees to designate or review their beneficiaries include:

  • At initial enrollment

  • During annual enrollment

  • When a life event occurs (getting married, buying a home, having a child, divorce, etc.)

  • Anytime they add or change dependents

  • In the event of the death of a named beneficiary

Look over the beneficiary percentages and ensure each section adds up to 100 percent. For example, for multiple beneficiaries:

  • Primary beneficiary: Sue Smith 100%

  • Contingent beneficiaries: Dave Smith 50% and Bob Miller 50%

  • For electronic enrollment systems: Make sure your system doesn’t have a default like “employee’s estate” when the employee doesn’t include the name of the beneficiary.

  • For systems not programmed to require beneficiary designations: We recommend that you regularly run a report to identify any employees who haven’t named their beneficiaries and request that they do.

  • For all benefits administration systems: Ensure that each coverage that includes a death benefit has a beneficiary section, and make sure that section is filled out by employees.

When a claim is made, submit a copy of the Beneficiary Designation form with the initial claim.

If your Guardian benefits include the EAP, then your employee’s beneficiaries and their household members have access to valuable beneficiary support through the ComPsych GuidanceResources® Beneficiary Advocate ProgramSM. This program is available at no cost for up to one year following the submission of a group life claim. It offers assistance with emotional health concerns, as well as guidance on family, legal, and financial matters—including funeral and estate planning. For more information on the program, download the program flyer under "Resources to share with employees."