What do beneficiaries want to know?
For most of us, naming a beneficiary seems like a functional task.
Put a name on a line.
Feel content that your affairs are in order.
But is it that simple?
The Later-in-Life Conversations Study found that while 76% of the next generation would like to be informed when they are named as a beneficiary, only 35% of baby boomers feel they should talk to a person they are naming.
And this finding raises an interesting question.
What do beneficiaries mean when they say they would like to "be informed"?
We decided to ask a group of Generation X and millennials what being informed looks like to them.
We discovered that it doesn't mean "Just tell me the account or amount." Here's what we learned: 1.
"Being informed" means "I want to be involved in planning that impacts me." Members of the next generation are very clear that they would like to have visibility into and voice in planning that will impact their lives.
They are focused on both functional considerations ("I'd like to understand the structure of my parents' accounts and assets") and emotional aspects ("I am thinking about how their decisions will impact the relationships between me and my siblings").
If someone is impacted by a decision, they should have voice and maybe vote.
Children want to be "prepared" for the future.
There was a clear sentiment that the next generation would like to do whatever is possible to be prepared for the future.
For example, one person said, "I would like to have the information I need to do a good job no matter what arises related to my parents' financial affairs." The next generation would like to know so they can effectively navigate their parents' affairs in the future.
Talk about what "being prepared for the future" means to each family member.
The next generation is thinking about how their parents' planning impacts their own planning.
The next-generation participants pointed out that they are adults with their own families and are doing their own planning.
They expressed a wish for open dialogue with their parents about each other's planning priorities.
They are asking, "What do I need to know to incorporate my parents' thinking into my planning?" Explore what "co-planning" with your multigenerational adult family might look like.
The next generation wants to be able to carry out their parents' wishes.
A prominent theme in what we heard was around the responsibility the next generation feels to carry out their parents' wishes.
They view everything from being a beneficiary to executing on an estate plan as a form of love, gratitude, and respect.
One respondent said, "They have done so much for me.
The least I can do is make sure that their wishes are carried out as they hope." List your wishes for how you want your family experience around end-of-life to go.
The next generation tends to go "one down" and not ask.
The final insight is that adult children still tend to go "one down" and set aside their own interests.
"I want to know, but never really feel it is my place to ask.
I'm sure they will talk to me when they are ready." Talk about what family members would like to know so they don't have to wonder.
These insights are a good reminder that a beneficiary is never just a name on a line.
It's a systemic decision that impacts your family.
Talk about what being a beneficiary means.
You may be surprised by what you find.
Reflect on the reality that naming someone a beneficiary is part of a larger generational planning relationship with them.
Get started Step into the "today" thinking of your named beneficiaries (because it could be today).
It sounds like, "You've been named a beneficiary, and if it were a 'today' reality, it means ...." Senior generation Suspend your assumptions about what it means to name a beneficiary and explore the perspectives of those you are naming.
Next generation Ask your parents what it means to them when they name someone a beneficiary.