The Importance of Updating Your Personal and Beneficiary Information

Benefit Your Beneficiaries by Updating Your Personal Information

Changes in life and relationships can happen in the blink of an eye. With this in mind, it’s important to notify the university and update personal information such as your designated beneficiaries or address.

What is a beneficiary?

A beneficiary is the person, persons, or entity you name on a life insurance policy to receive the proceeds of the life insurance policy upon your death.

Naming a beneficiary ensures that they receive all of your life insurance benefit in the event of your death. Since this benefit is not part of your will, provincial probate fees and lawyer fees don’t apply, and creditors will not have an opportunity to get access to it.

What is an estate?

A person’s estate can include all of a person’s possessions, including their property, other assets, and debts at the time of their death.

If you don’t designate a beneficiary, your life insurance will be paid to your estate in the event of your death (or your spouse’s estate in the event of their death, if you hold Spousal Optional Life Insurance). Probate will occur, which is a lengthy and costly legal process of administering your estate.

Why do I need to update my beneficiary?

In the event of a claim, you want the benefit to be paid to the correct individual(s) or organization.

How do I check and update my life insurance beneficiary?

To view your current life insurance beneficiary:

1. Log in to the Faculty & Staff Self-Service portal at msp.ubc.ca, using your Campus-Wide Login (CWL) and password. If you are off campus, you will need to connect using VPN.
2. Click on “My Benefits”.
3. Click on “Basic Life” or “Optional Life/AD&D” (if applicable).
4. Your current beneficiary will be displayed. If you need to update this information, refer to the following instructions.

To update your life insurance beneficiary:

1. Fill out the relevant form:

• Basic Life Beneficiary Change Form
• Employee Optional Life/AD&D Beneficiary Change Form
• Spouse Optional Life/AD&D Beneficiary Change Form

2. Submit the original, completed form to your nearest UBC Payroll Office (see below) and keep a copy for your personal records.

It is also important to keep your beneficiary information up-to-date for your UBC pension benefits. In the event of your death, your designated beneficiary(ies) may receive a death benefit from the plan.

Under British Columbia pension legislation, your spouse must be named as your primary beneficiary unless they sign a survivor benefits waiver.

For more details about pension beneficiary designations, visit the Staff Pension Plan or Faculty Pension Plan.

If you have questions about pension beneficiaries, contact the Pension Office at 604-822-8100 or email spp@hr.ubc.ca for the Staff Pension Plan or fpp@hr.ubc.ca for the Faculty Pension Plan.

Why do I need to update my address?

This is to ensure that important correspondence is sent to the correct address.

To view and update your current address:

1. Log in to the Faculty & Staff Self-Service portal at www.msp.ubc.ca, using your Campus-Wide Login (CWL) and password. If you are off campus, you will need to connect using VPN.
2. Click on “My Personal Summary”.
3. You will be able to edit and view your address.
4. If you are enrolled in the Medical Services Plan (MSP) through UBC and need to update your address with Health Insurance BC, please fill out this form and submit it to the appropriate UBC Payroll Office:

Vancouver Campus
UBC Financial Operations
Attention: Payroll Services
5th Floor – TEF 3
6190 Agronomy Road
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3

Okanagan Campus
Finance Operations & Strategies
Attention: Payroll
ADM006 – 1138 Alumni Ave
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7