Ex-Wife Gets 401(k) Money as Dead Man’s Beneficiary Change Fails

The ex-wife of a deceased Packaging Corp. of America employee is entitled to his 401(k) account of about $293,000, the Seventh Circuit held Monday, rejecting arguments from his estate and those of a contingent beneficiary.

The employee didn’t substantially comply with the 401(k) plan’s procedures when he attempted to remove his ex-wife as his beneficiary following their 2022 divorce, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said. The fax he sent to Packaging Corp.'s business center showed an intent to remove her as a beneficiary, the court said, but he “did not even attempt to utilize the ...