Yes! You can use AI to fill out Beneficiary Designation Form (205)
A Beneficiary Designation Form is a crucial legal document that allows an account holder, typically an employee, to specify who will inherit the assets in their account upon their death. This form ensures that your financial legacy is distributed according to your wishes, bypassing the often lengthy probate process. Today, this form can be filled out quickly and accurately using AI-powered services like Instafill.ai, which can also convert non-fillable PDF versions into interactive fillable forms.
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Form specifications
| Form name: | Beneficiary Designation Form (205) |
| Number of pages: | 1 |
| Language: | English |
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How to Fill Out BENE(205) Online for Free in 2026
Are you looking to fill out a BENE(205) form online quickly and accurately? Instafill.ai offers the #1 AI-powered PDF filling software of 2026, allowing you to complete your BENE(205) form in just 37 seconds or less.
Follow these steps to fill out your BENE(205) form online using Instafill.ai:
- 1 Navigate to Instafill.ai and upload or select the Beneficiary Designation Form.
- 2 Provide your personal information, including your name, Social Security Number, and marital status.
- 3 Use the AI assistant to enter the full name, Social Security Number, address, relationship, and birth date for each primary beneficiary, ensuring the benefit percentages total 100%.
- 4 Optionally, designate secondary beneficiaries in the same manner, again ensuring their benefit percentages total 100%.
- 5 If you are married and have designated a primary beneficiary other than your spouse, complete the Spousal Consent section, which requires your spouse's signature and notarization.
- 6 Review all entered information for accuracy, then sign and date the form.
- 7 Securely download, print, or submit the completed form as instructed by your plan administrator.
Our AI-powered system ensures each field is filled out correctly, reducing errors and saving you time.
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Our AI performs 10 compliance checks to ensure your form is error-free.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Form BENE(205)
This form is used to officially name the person or people who will receive your account balance upon your death. It is a required document for all employees enrolling in the plan.
A primary beneficiary is the first person in line to receive your account balance. A secondary beneficiary will only receive the funds if all of your primary beneficiaries have passed away before you.
You can, but only if your spouse agrees and signs the Spousal Consent waiver in Section III of this form. By default, a married employee's spouse must be the sole primary beneficiary.
The Spousal Consent section (Section III) must be completed and notarized if you are legally married and you name a primary beneficiary other than, or in addition to, your spouse.
If you need to designate more than two primary or more than two secondary beneficiaries, you must complete and attach an additional beneficiary form for the extra individuals.
Yes, the percentages assigned to your primary beneficiaries must total 100%. Similarly, the percentages for your secondary beneficiaries must also total 100%.
For each beneficiary, you will need their full name, Social Security Number, current address, relationship to you, and date of birth.
The form contains conflicting instructions regarding submission to ADP. You should return this form to your company's Plan Administrator or HR department to ensure it is processed correctly.
If you do not designate a beneficiary, or if all your named beneficiaries die before you, your account balance will be distributed to a default beneficiary as determined by the official terms of the plan.
If you check the box for 'Legally separated or abandoned,' you are required to provide a copy of the relevant court order to the Plan Administrator.
Yes, services like Instafill.ai use AI to accurately auto-fill form fields from your saved profile, which can save you time and help prevent errors.
You can use a service like Instafill.ai to upload the form and fill it out on your computer. The platform allows you to type directly into the fields, add your signature, and then download the completed document.
If you have a non-fillable or 'flat' PDF, you can use a tool like Instafill.ai. It can convert the document into an interactive, fillable form for you to complete online.
Compliance BENE(205)
Validation Checks by Instafill.ai
1
Primary Beneficiary Percentage Summation
This check verifies that the sum of the percentages assigned to all primary beneficiaries equals exactly 100%. This is critical to ensure the entire account balance is distributed according to the employee's wishes without ambiguity. If the total is not 100%, the form is considered invalid and cannot be processed, preventing potential legal disputes over the allocation of funds.
2
Spousal Consent Requirement for Married Employees
This validation enforces the rule that if the employee's marital status is 'Married' and their spouse is not designated as the sole primary beneficiary, the Spousal Consent in Section III must be completed and notarized. This is a legal requirement in many plans to protect spousal rights to retirement assets. Failure to obtain this consent when required will render the beneficiary designation invalid.
3
Secondary Beneficiary Percentage Summation
This check ensures that if any secondary beneficiaries are designated, the sum of their assigned percentages equals exactly 100%. This rule applies only if the secondary beneficiary section is used, ensuring a clear line of succession for the assets if no primary beneficiaries are able to inherit. An incorrect total would create ambiguity and halt the processing of the secondary designation.
4
Social Security Number (SSN) Format
This validation confirms that all Social Security Number fields, for both the employee and any beneficiaries, follow the standard XXX-XX-XXXX format. Correct formatting is essential for unique identification and to prevent data entry errors that could lead to misidentification of individuals. An invalid format will trigger an error, requiring the user to correct the entry before submission.
5
Mandatory Employee Signature and Date
This check verifies that the 'Signature of Employee/Participant' and the corresponding 'Date' fields are both completed. The signature and date serve as legal confirmation that the employee has reviewed and authorized the designations on the form. A missing signature or date makes the entire form legally non-binding and will result in its rejection.
6
Mandatory Primary Beneficiary Designation
This validation ensures that at least one primary beneficiary has been designated with all required information filled out (Name, SSN, Address, Relationship, Birth Date, and Percentage). The primary purpose of the form is to name a beneficiary, so failing to designate a primary beneficiary makes the form incomplete. If this section is blank, the form will be rejected, and default plan rules will apply upon the employee's death.
7
Beneficiary Entry Completeness
This check ensures that if a name is entered for any beneficiary (primary or secondary), all other associated fields for that individual (SSN, Address, Relationship, Birth Date, Percentage) are also completed. This prevents incomplete records which are unusable for processing and could cause significant delays or legal issues when distributing assets. The system should flag any partially filled beneficiary entries for completion.
8
Marital Status Selection
This validation confirms that one of the 'Current Marital Status' options has been selected. This information is critical for determining whether spousal consent rules apply to the beneficiary designations. An unselected marital status makes it impossible to apply the correct validation logic, so the form submission will be blocked until a selection is made.
9
Notary Section Completeness for Spousal Consent
If the spousal consent in Section III is required and signed, this check verifies that the entire 'Acknowledgement of Witness' (notary) section is fully completed. This includes the witness/notary name, date, state, county, and commission expiration date. A properly notarized signature is required to legally validate the spouse's consent, and any missing information in this section will invalidate the waiver.
10
Valid Date Formats and Logic
This check validates that all date fields, including beneficiary birth dates, signature dates, and the notary commission expiration, are entered in a valid format (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY) and represent a logical date. For example, a birth date cannot be in the future, and a signature date cannot be before a birth date. This ensures data integrity and prevents nonsensical or erroneous information from being entered into the system.
11
Notary Commission Expiration Date Validity
This validation specifically checks that the notary's commission expiration date is a valid future date relative to the date of notarization. A notary cannot legally perform their duties with an expired commission. If the commission expiration date is in the past, the spousal consent is not legally witnessed and the form will be rejected.
12
Employee Social Security Number Presence
This check ensures the employee's own Social Security Number field is not empty. The employee's SSN is the primary key used to identify the employee and link the beneficiary designation to the correct retirement account. A missing employee SSN makes it impossible to file the form correctly, leading to immediate rejection.
13
Recordkeeping Plan Number Format
This validation verifies that the 'Recordkeeping Plan #' field contains exactly 6 digits. This number is a key identifier for the specific plan the employee is enrolled in. An incorrect or incomplete plan number could result in the form being misfiled or rejected, so it must match the expected format.
Common Mistakes in Completing BENE(205)
A married employee names a primary beneficiary other than their spouse but fails to have Section III completed. This section requires the spouse's signed consent and must be notarized. This is a strict legal requirement to waive spousal rights, and omitting it will invalidate the non-spouse designation, causing the benefit to default to the spouse per plan rules.
Users often make simple math errors or forget to assign a percentage, resulting in the primary or secondary beneficiary totals not equaling 100%. The form requires each group (primary and secondary) to have allocations that sum to exactly 100%. An incorrect total will cause the form to be rejected, delaying the processing of the designation.
The employee's own signature and the date of signing are frequently overlooked at the bottom of the form. An unsigned or undated form is not legally valid and will not be processed by the plan administrator. This simple oversight means the new beneficiary designation will not replace any previous one on file.
People often leave the beneficiary's Social Security Number (SSN) or full date of birth blank, especially if they don't have the information readily available. This data is critical for the plan administrator to unambiguously identify the correct individual upon the employee's death. Missing information can lead to significant delays and legal hurdles for the intended beneficiary when trying to claim the funds.
Some individuals misunderstand the roles and only fill out the 'Secondary Beneficiary' section, leaving the 'Primary' section blank. The form explicitly states a primary beneficiary must be designated. Secondary beneficiaries only receive the account balance if all primary beneficiaries are no longer living at the time of the employee's death, so failing to name a primary beneficiary makes the form incomplete.
The form lists a return address for 'ADP NJ CRS' but also contains a large, bold warning stating 'DO NOT SEND THIS FORM TO ADP'. This conflicting information causes significant confusion. Employees may send the form to the wrong place, not submit it at all, or send it to their local HR, leading to the designation never being officially recorded with the plan administrator.
Even if a spouse signs the consent waiver in Section III, users often forget the subsequent step of having the signature acknowledged by a Notary Public. The form clearly requires notarization for the waiver to be valid. Submitting a form with a signed but un-notarized waiver will result in the rejection of the non-spouse beneficiary designation.
When this form is provided as a flat PDF, it must be printed and filled out by hand, often leading to illegible entries for names, addresses, or numbers. Poor handwriting can cause critical data entry errors by the plan administrator, potentially sending correspondence to the wrong address or recording an incorrect SSN. AI-powered tools like Instafill.ai can convert such non-fillable PDFs into clear, typable forms to prevent these errors.
The form specifies entering names as 'Last, First, Middle' and dates as 'Month Day Year', but users often default to other formats like 'First Last' or 'MM/DD/YYYY'. While seemingly minor, these formatting inconsistencies can cause data entry errors or issues with automated system processing. Following the specified format ensures data integrity and smooth processing.
The form only has space for two primary and two secondary beneficiaries, but the instructions state to attach an additional form if more are needed. Users who wish to name three or more beneficiaries may try to squeeze them into the margins or forget to attach the required extra page. This results in an incomplete designation where not all intended beneficiaries are legally listed.
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