Who will get the balance of the LIRA if I die?
If you are a plan member/owner and you die before retirement, your spouse or common-law partner will get the LIRA account balance. If you don?t have a spouse or partner, the balance goes to the beneficiary. If there is no beneficiary, it goes to your estate. If the funds were transferred to your LIRA because your relationship broke down or your spouse or former spouse or partner died, the LIRA account balance may be paid to your beneficiary or to your estate in a lump sum. Your spouse or partner may, before or after your death, waive (voluntarily give up) his/her rights (or potential rights) to the death benefit, after the plan administrator has given him/her prescribed information and he/she has signed a waiver and given it to the administrator of the LIRA. As a LIRA owner, you and your spouse or partner can revoke (cancel) the waiver by signing a joint letter or form and filing it with the financial institution that holds the LIRA.
