Beneficiary Designation Form - does it have to be notarized?

Is the Beneficiary desigantion form required to be notarized if the beneficiary is a spouse?   Is it even needed for all practical purposes?  Our plan docs name spouse as a default beneficiary in the pecking order.  Interested to hear thoughts and opinions.....

As ever, RTFD—Read The Fabulous Document.

To state provisions that meet ERISA § 205, an ERISA-governed plan typically calls for a notary to witness a spouse’s consent, and (sometimes) officiate an acknowledgment of a participant’s qualified election.

Many ERISA-governed plans do not otherwise call for a notarial act. For example, a beneficiary designation that does not deprive the participant’s spouse.

But some plans provide that some claims, directions, or instructions require a participant to make and acknowledge the writing before a notary, even when that’s unnecessary to meet an ERISA command or an Internal Revenue Code tax-qualification condition.

For a governmental plan, a non-ERISA church plan, or a plan that covers no employee, check not only “the” plan document but also applicable State law.

This is not advice to anyone.

Thank you Peter, well explained.