The Retirement Equities Act of 1984 (REACT) requires spouses of employees in plans subject to ERISA to share their retirement benefits. A participant's spouse must generally be designated the beneficiary for at least 50% of the benefits under the plan by any employee who participated in a retirement plan subject to ERISA after August 22, 1984, unless he or she files a "Waiver of Spouse's Right to a Survivor Benefit" confirming that he/she is not:
TIAA-CREF will not allow a married participant in a plan subject to ERISA sponsored by a private institution to take a distribution in any form other than a joint and survivor annuity unless the spouse has waived his or her rights. TIAA-CREF sends out the required joint and survivor notices to participants at the required time depending on the participant's age and years of service. The Spousal waiver form can be found in the Forms section of the TIAA-CREF Administrator Web Center Home Page. Simply click on "view all forms" then click on the "Retirement Income Forms" dropdown menu and select the appropriate form. As the plan administrator, you may be asked to confirm the marital status of single employees or verify the spouse's signature.
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© 2010 and prior years, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY 10017
