CalPERS Pre-Retirement Beneficiary Designation 0772

What Is the CalPERS Beneficiary Form?

The CalPERS Beneficiary Designation Form (BSD-241) is the legal document that determines who receives your retirement contributions and death benefits. Every active and inactive CalPERS member should have a current designation on file. Members with at least 20 years of State service credit may qualify for a monthly death benefit allowance paid directly to their named beneficiary.

What the form covers:

• Primary and secondary beneficiary designations for lump-sum contributions
• Monthly death benefit allowances for eligible surviving beneficiaries
• Special death benefits for industrial or line-of-duty deaths
• Spouse or domestic partner rights to community property benefits

When your designation is automatically revoked: CalPERS cancels your existing beneficiary designation when any of these life changes occur:

• Marriage or registration of a domestic partnership
• Divorce, dissolution, or annulment
• Birth or legal adoption of a child
• Termination of your CalPERS membership

After any of these events, file a new designation right away. If your spouse or domestic partner cannot sign, the form provides alternative certification options including written acknowledgment or a court order. Spouses and domestic partners have legal rights to a portion of community property benefits, so both parties must sign or a valid exception must be documented.

Members who wish to designate a trust, organization, or estate as a beneficiary must provide the tax ID number and the trustee or representative's name on the form. Keep a copy of your completed form for your personal records.

See also: CalPERS Retirement Application Form and the FE-6 Claim for Death Benefits.