Beneficiary change situation

[dmwe]

A participant in a governmental plan wants to remove a disabled spouse as primary beneficiary and name the children. Since the spouse is disabled and the participant is the durable power of attorney for the spouse, can the participant change the beneficiary to the children and where it provides for spousal consent, sign with the POA designation where the spouse would typically consent to the change? Or, as a governmental plan, is the spouse's consent not required?

Thanks

[QDROphile]

Depends on the plan terms and the applicable government law. If you are asking because of your familiarity with ERISA requirements for consents, ERISA does not apply as such, but the plan or other applicable law may have adopted requirements similar to ERISAs..