English
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek
Life insurance is the only financial product that can immediately create an amount of money chosen in advance to be paid at the insured’s death.
The life insurance death benefit provides a lump sum to your family when you die and the life insurance funds can be used for anything they want, including their living and education expenses. But to receive this money and enjoy the life insurance benefit, they must be listed as beneficiaries on your policy.
There are two types of beneficiaries – revocable beneficiaries and irrevocable beneficiaries. If you designate someone as a revocable beneficiary, they can be removed from your policy. However, an irrevocable beneficiary can’t be removed from your policy without their consent.
What is a life insurance beneficiary?
A beneficiary is a person named by the life insurance policyholder who will receive the death benefit. It can be a specific person, such as a spouse, or multiple people, such as children or grandchildren.
The primary life insurance beneficiary will receive the death benefit when you die as long as the policy is still active. For instance, a term life insurance policy is only for a set time. If you outlive a term life policy, your beneficiaries don’t receive death benefits.
Generally, a policyowner can change the beneficiary anytime by notifying the life insurance company. However, a policy owner may designate a beneficiary as irrevocable, which makes it much harder to remove the person from the policy.
What is an irrevocable beneficiary?
An irrevocable beneficiary designation can’t be changed without the beneficiary’s consent. In some states, the insurance company has to notify an irrevocable beneficiary if the policy has been canceled.
So, if you name someone an irrevocable beneficiary, that person will receive the life insurance benefits— even if you later would remove that person from your policy.
In community property states, spouses are irrevocable beneficiaries if the policyholder purchased the policy after they got married. In those states, you need your spouse’s permission if you plan on naming someone else as the beneficiary.
 | AIG
| Get a Quote |
 | Everyday Life Life
| Get a Quote |
 | Bestow
| Get a Quote |
 | Globe Life
| Get a Quote |
 | Life Insurance Pro
| Get a Quote |
 | Gerber
| Get a Quote |
 | Ethos
| Get a Quote |
How an irrevocable life insurance beneficiary works
Life insurance owned by a trust usually has the trust named as an irrevocable beneficiary to make sure the death benefit stays out of the insured’s estate.
Andrea Schanker, partner at Schanker and Hochberg P.C., says she uses an Irrevocable Trust to be the owner and beneficiary of life insurance policies. This method is most commonly used to exclude the death benefit from the taxable estate at the time of death (for estate tax purposes, whether that be state and/or federal). It’s also known as Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust or ILIT.
Schanker adds that other reasons to name an ILIT are to protect and manage the assets on behalf of the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries once the death benefit payout is released.
That’s especially vital for minors and beneficiaries with special needs.
“This is also important for those beneficiaries who may be adults but are not capable of managing the assets on their own for a variety of reasons,” Schanker adds.
Irrevocable beneficiaries are guaranteed to receive their share of the proceeds. For example, a policyowner might want to name their children as irrevocable beneficiaries if they’re in a second marriage.
Benefits of listing an irrevocable beneficiary
There are a few reasons why you want an irrevocable beneficiary:
- Asset protection
- Keep assets out of the estate when used with an ILIT
- Guarantees beneficiary won’t be changed
Revocable vs. irrevocable life insurance beneficiary
Here’s how revocable and irrevocable beneficiaries compare:
| Policy details | Revocable beneficiary | Irrevocable beneficiary |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiaries | Can be changed or removed at any time | Can’t be removed without written consent of beneficiary |
| Policy transactions and changes | Determined by policy owner | May require written consent of beneficiary |
| Policy cancellation | At discretion of owner | Company may be required to notify beneficiary |
How to change an irrevocable beneficiary
To change an irrevocable beneficiary, the policyholder will have to get written consent from the current beneficiary to forfeit their rights to the money.
Even if you change the beneficiary on your policy, the irrevocable beneficiary will still receive the death benefit because of the policy terms.
