A beneficiary provision for life insurance and IRAs should allow for the naming of a primary and contingent beneficiary. Unfortunately, most beneficiaries will not receive benefits. Here’s why.
The primary beneficiary is the person designated to receive the death benefits if the insured dies. The contingent is the person designated to receive the death benefits if both the insured and the primary die at the same time. Beneficiaries can be a person, a business or a trust in most cases. An irrevocable beneficiary is a beneficiary who can be changed by the policyholder only with the permission of that beneficiary.
