If you have recently drawn up your will, or opened a new life insurance or retirement account, you may have come across the phrase “contingent beneficiary”. What is a contingent beneficiary and why does it matter? It sounds complicated — but it’s not. Read on, and we will break down exactly what it means — and how it can impact your estate plans

What is a contingent beneficiary?

When you make a will, purchase a life insurance policy or open a retirement account, one of the first things you’ll be asked is who you’d like to name as your primary beneficiary. Simply put, that is the person or persons who will receive the benefits of the policy or account when you die.

Your primary beneficiary can also be an organization or charity. For example, you can name your college alma mater to receive your payout for the purpose of endowing a scholarship in your name.

A contingent beneficiary, meanwhile, is the person who will receive the benefits if the primary beneficiary has died, is unable to be located or, for whatever reason, refuses the payout. You could think of the contingent as the auxiliary, or back-up, beneficiary — someone who benefits if the primary person is not able to receive the benefits.

You can name multiple primary and contingent beneficiaries, and many people do. But the contingent beneficiaries will not receive the proceeds from your policy unless all of the primary beneficiaries are unavailable. If even one of them steps forward, the contingent beneficiaries do not benefit.

Primary vs contingent beneficiaries

It may help to think of the primary beneficiary as the first person who benefits from the will or policy. So if someone has a term life insurance policy for $100,000, and they pass away while the term is in effect, the person they designate as primary will receive $100,00 from the insurance company.

However, if that primary beneficiary has died, or cannot be located, the executors of the estate will take another look at the policy to see who the contingent beneficiary is. If, for example, it is a family friend, that person will then receive the $100,000.

The beneficiaries — both primary and contingent — do not necessarily have to be individuals. Here is an example: the policyholder may have designated his wife as the primary beneficiary, but she predeceases him by a few months. If he had named the local animal shelter as his contingent beneficiary, they would receive the money. It could also go to a university, a trust or another charitable organization.

To have multiple beneficiaries, you merely have to state your preferences when you purchase the policy. So if your husband is your primary beneficiary, you can name your two children both as contingent beneficiaries, each receiving 50% of the payout.

Any stipulations that were noted for the primary beneficiary also hold true for the contingent. So if the money was to be disbursed in one lump sum, this would hold true for the contingent beneficiary as well. If, on the other hand, the money was to be distributed to the primary beneficiary over a period of several years, that, too, would be how the contingent beneficiary would receive their payout.

Choosing a contingent beneficiary

It is important to name your contingent beneficiary when you first write your will or purchase your policy. But that doesn’t mean it’s written in stone. Life sometimes throws a curveball. So, for example, if you name your wife as your beneficiary, and then several years later the two of you divorce, you can revisit your designations and choose a new beneficiary.

The only legal options you don’t have for contingent beneficiaries are: you cannot name a minor child and you cannot name a pet. In both cases, you would instead have to name a guardian as the beneficiary, who would then be responsible for ensuring that the child or pet received the appropriate care.

For a child, the money would be held in trust until they are of legal age. For a pet, the guardian could use the money to give the animal the level of care that the policyholder would have wanted for their beloved pet.

Why choosing a contingent beneficiary is important

Since we can never be 100% sure that our situation when we die will be exactly the same as our situation when we purchased a policy, it is a good idea to have a contingent beneficiary in mind even if they are not the first person we’d like to see receive the payout.

Naming that person (or charity or organization) may make the process of disbursing your estate much easier because your wishes are clearly stated. No one can fight over your insurance benefits if you have listed your primary and contingent beneficiaries and your intention for your payout is clear.

If you have not named beneficiaries for your life insurance policy, your estate may get stuck in the probate process, which can eat away at the benefits because of legal and other fees. The clearer your intentions are before your death, the less likely your estate will be held up and cause distress and loss of income for your beneficiaries.

By: Mary Van Keuren
Posted: Nov. 6th, 2020

Frequently asked questions:

As long as you have the written, legal documents stating your preference clearly, there should be no problem with this. A good recommendation, however, might be to share this information with both children while you can. That way they will understand your reasoning and indicate their acceptance of your wishes.

It is a good idea to do so, because circumstances can change in ways you could never have imagined. If you have two primary beneficiaries, and one dies, the other would inherit the whole policy. But if both die before you, a contingent beneficiary would stand to gain the entire payout.

No. The contingent beneficiary receives a payout only if the primary beneficiary (or beneficiaries) have died, cannot be found or refuse the benefit.

No, it is entirely up to you to name whomever you want (except a child or pet). Your primary and contingent beneficiaries can be family friends, someone you would like to help or an organization or charity you support.