Withdrawal to multiple beneficiaries

[Guest ami]

I'm hoping you can help provide some guidance with a distribution due to death. Both the participant and primary beneficiary have passed away. The secondary beneficiary is divided equally between two individuals. Only one of the indivdiduals has responded to the withdrawal request. Is there any reason we could not pay 1/2 the account balance today to this beneficiary? Or do we need to wait until the other beneficiary makes an election as well?

Thanks!

[Mike Preston]

Once a beneficiary's share is known, there is no need to wait for the other beneficiary to declare their intentions. There may be administrative desires to wait, though, especially if the other one might disclaim their benefit. In that case, the other individual may get a bigger amount.