You can name a beneficiary at any time while you are an active, deferred or retired member. It's important to keep your beneficiary information current, as VRS is generally required by law to pay benefits according to the latest beneficiary designation in your member record. Review your beneficiary designation after a personal milestone such as a change in marital status, the birth or adoption of a child, or as you near retirement.
If you are a Hybrid Retirement Plan member or participate in defined contribution plans such as the Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and Virginia Cash Match Plan, you will need to separately name a beneficiary for those plans. (See Defined Contribution Plans, below.)
Defined Benefit Plans
Register or log in to your myVRS account to name or update beneficiaries for your defined benefit member contributions and VRS Group Life and Optional Life Insurance, if you are eligible.
You can name any living person or an entity, such as an eligible trust or charity, as your beneficiary.
You can name one primary beneficiary or multiple primary beneficiaries. Upon your death, each primary beneficiary receives a share of any retirement contributions and interest in your member contribution account and any life insurance benefits you may have, depending on how you designate your primary beneficiaries for each payment. If you name multiple primary beneficiaries, you will select the percentage of proceeds each beneficiary is to receive.
You can name a contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries. If your primary beneficiary or beneficiaries are deceased at the time of your death, your contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries receive benefit payments.
If there is no valid beneficiary designation on file or your beneficiary is deceased at the time of your death, VRS will pay benefits according to the order of precedence, as required by law.
Defined Contribution Plans
If you are a member of the Hybrid Retirement Plan or participate in the Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and Virginia Cash Match Plan, select your plan's website and log in to your account to name your beneficiary.
