Designate Beneficiaries

Need to designate a beneficiary?

General

  • Certain benefits distribute assets to a person, or persons, in the event that something happens to you. That is why you have the right to designate another individual or trust as your beneficiary to receive benefits payable after your death
  • The primary beneficiary is the person or persons who will receive your assets when you die. However, if the primary beneficiary dies before you, your assets then will go to your contingent beneficiary when you die
  • You may revoke, amend or change your designation at any time by filing a new beneficiary designation. This is important to make sure that your death benefits are paid according to your wishes

Health Savings Account

  • Once you activate your account with Health Equity, you can designate a beneficiary for your HSA dollars online
  • If you don’t designate a beneficiary, your account dollars will go to your estate, making the fair market value of your account taxable. If your beneficiary is your spouse, the transfer is tax free
  • You can change your beneficiary designation online

Life and Accident Insurance

  • To designate a beneficiary, login to the Cummins Health Benefit Service Center website, go to Current Benefits.  Changes to your beneficiaries can be made via the BENEFICIARIES tabs. Once you have added the beneficiaries you will then need to go back to current coverage page and scroll down to Basic Life Insurance and then click add beneficiaries.  This will prompt you to select primary or secondary and the percentage of coverage for each beneficiary.  Do the same for Voluntary Life if you have the additional Life Insurance as well.
  • If you don’t designate a beneficiary, your assets will go to your estate.

Pension Plan and Retirement and Savings Plan

  • To update your retirement plan beneficiary, login to the Your Benefits Resources website, go to the Profile menu (top, right of the homepage), then ‘Beneficiaries’. From here, you can add or update beneficiaries for your Cummins Retirement and Savings Plan (RSP) and your Cummins Pension Plan. Please note, a separate beneficiary election is required for each plan.
  • If you are married, your beneficiary is automatically your spouse/significant other for your Retirement, unless you elect a different beneficiary with your spouse’s/significant other’s written consent. Your spouse’s/significant other’s consent must:
    • Acknowledge the effect of your election and the fact that he or she is waiving benefits;
    • Apply only to a specific beneficiary designation, which may not be changed without your spouse’s/significant other’s consent; and
    • Be witnessed by a notary public
  • If you are not married, you may designate any individual or trust as your beneficiary. You may also designate any individual or trust as your contingent beneficiary
  • If you get married after making a beneficiary designation, your spouse/significant other will automatically become your beneficiary and your prior beneficiary designation will no longer be effective.
  • If you do not designate a beneficiary, or no designated beneficiary survives you, your benefits under the Plan are payable as follows:
    • To your spouse/significant other, if living at the time of your death; or
    • If no beneficiary is then alive, to your estate
  • If you need additional assistance, please call the Cummins Retirement Benefits Service Center at 1-800-682-8788. Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central time.