Nominate beneficiaries for your basic and optional life insurance plans
You can nominate beneficiaries, appoint contingent beneficiaries and nominate trustees for minor beneficiaries for your basic and optional life insurance.
Use the Beneficiary Nomination Form to nominate beneficiaries, appoint contingent beneficiaries and nominate trustees for minor beneficiaries for your basic and optional life insurance. Any previously nominated beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries will be revoked (cancelled) when the Benefits Unit receives the form.
A set of beneficiaries applies to both basic and optional life insurance. Nominated beneficiaries can be individuals, institutions, trusts or charities. Beneficiaries cannot be financial institutions for the purposes of repaying a loan.
Contingent beneficiaries receive the proceeds of the insurance payout if the main beneficiaries are deceased at the time of the claim.
If you want to nominate a minor child as a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary, consider nominating a trustee to care for the funds on behalf of the minor child.
If you haven’t completed the form or if all your nominated and contingent beneficiaries are deceased at the time of the claim, proceeds become payable to your estate.
Who can use this form
Government of Nova Scotia employees and retirees that have basic or optional life insurance under the Government of Nova Scotia Group Life Insurance Plan need to use this form to nominate or change beneficiaries for their basic and optional life insurance.
This form is not required for spouse optional life insurance and dependent optional life insurance as the employee is the automatic beneficiary.
What you need to do
- Complete the form.
- Check the form for details on all required supporting documents.
- Check that you’ve signed and dated the form.
- Send the original completed form and supporting documents by mail. Or visit the Benefits Unit.
- Provide a copy of the completed form to your employer.
How long it takes
Your nominations take effect as soon as the Benefits Unit receives the form. It should take 1 to 2 days to see your nominations in Employee Self Service (ESS) after the Benefits Unit receives the form. It can take longer if more information is needed or if your form hasn’t been filled in correctly.
Cost
There is no cost to submit the form.
Before you start
Make sure you have:
- your member identification number
- names and dates of birth of all beneficiaries
Download form
Government employees can submit changes to beneficiaries through Employee Self Service (ESS). You need to print, sign and send the completed form to the Benefits Unit to make the changes official.
Retirees need to print the form and mail the original signed form to the Benefits Unit.