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Since you used the term "primary beneficiary", perhaps there is, either by affirmative action or by plan provision, a secondary beneficiary. Check the company personnel file for any other possible beneficiary election, and then check the definition in the plan document. Hint: the document might define someone else before the estate. BTW, you will eventually pay someone (estate or a real person), don't forget the withholding rules: an estate is not eligible to open an IRA, so a payment to an estate is not rollable, therefore the (usual) 20% withholding does not apply. Next in line is the "other withholding" rate of 10%, but the estate has the right to elect zero withholding. Read the instructions for the W-4R form. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-4r

If the documents were written that way.

The only "requirement" that I have seen is from the 5500 instructions. This is from the instructions to 5500-SF, there is similar (but more complex, addressing DFEs and such) wording on the full 5500.

Effen is correct - for benefit determination you need not use consecutive but for 415 FAE hi-3 it must be. Also, and this applies to traditional plans with employees that are integrated with social security, you lose 401(l) safe harbor if you use average of non-consecutive years. We took over a plan where prior actuary amended for non-consecutive years for the client (via an "end around" on the AA) but never told them their safe harbor design went away and they needed to general test.