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  Benefits Information & Guidelines
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Designating Beneficiaries

The beneficiary for your life insurance is the person to whom the proceeds of your policy should go upon your death. Life insurance proceeds are received income tax free by the beneficiary.

To designate or change your beneficiaries:

New Employees

1. Download and complete the MetLife Beneficiary Designation Form (.doc).
2. Mail the completed form directly to MetLife.

Current Employees

1. Connect to the MetLife MyBenefits website.
2. Register on the site if you have never done so. Log in if you have previously visited the site.
3. Click on "Group Life Insurance".
4. Select "Beneficiary Management" to review or edit your beneficiaries.
5. Please note that MetLife lists your basic life insurance, the AD&D insurance that accompanies your basic coverage, your supplemental coverage, and the AD&D insurance that accompanies your supplemental coverage separately. You may list different beneficiaries for each type of coverage. If you want the same beneficiaries for all coverages, you need only complete the beneficiary information for your basic life insurance coverage. If you do not specify beneficiaries in a particular category, MetLife will use the beneficiaries listed for your Basic life insurance coverage for the other forms of coverage.

If you do not complete a beneficiary designation, the plan default beneficiary will be in force. The default is payment to: your spouse, if living, otherwise equally to your living children, otherwise equally to your parents, otherwise to your estate.

How do I designate multiple beneficiaries?

After determining whom you want to select as your beneficiary(ies), you may then choose what percentage of the benefit each individual should receive. For example:

1. Primary: Jane Doe, daughter and John Doe, son
   Jane and John will equally share the proceeds. If any additional children are born, they will not be eligible to receive a portion of the proceeds.
2. Primary: Susan Doe, spouse; Contingent: Jane Doe, daughter 75% and John Doe, son 25%
   The proceeds will be paid to Susan Doe. If Susan is not living, then the proceeds will be paid 75% to Jane Doe and 25% to John Doe.
3. Primary: William Doe - Trustee, his successors or successor in trust under the William Doe Revocable Trust Agreement. Executed by the insured on June 1, 1995.
   The proceeds will be paid to a Formal Trust. If the Trust is an institution, the address of the institution should be included.

Common beneficiary terminology

• Primary Beneficiary - The person or persons named will be the first to receive the proceeds.
• Contingent (Secondary) Beneficiary - If the primary beneficiary is deceased, the proceeds will be given to the contingent (secondary) beneficiary.
• Revocable Beneficiary - If you designate a revocable beneficiary, you may change the beneficiary at any time without the beneficiary's consent.
• Irrevocable Beneficiary - Once you designate an irrevocable beneficiary, you may not change it without the beneficiary's permission.
• Simultaneous Death - If both the insured and a beneficiary die simultaneously, the death benefit will be paid as if the insured survived the beneficiary.

© Carnegie Mellon Human Resources 2004