Filling out a Annuity claim form and the beneficiaries.
It has 2 primary with percents and 1 contingent with a percent
I’m not sure what contingent means in this context?
Webster says depending on
That’s not very helpful. I need to fully understand before filling out the form.
I’ll get annuity payments for my life or guaranteed up to 20 years for beneficiaries.
Backup, in case your primary beneficiaries die before you do.
Ok, I thought that might be the case. I just wanted to be sure.
Thanks
I can split the payments between 2 primary beneficiaries or if they die the contingent gets it.
I requested an amortization for 10 vs 20 years. There’s not that much difference in the monthly payments I’ll receive. 20 years is better for my beneficiaries. I hope to live at least another 10 years and that leaves them 10 years of payments.
Or I may live 25 and they get zip. 
Be careful about the form wording.
If you have two primaries and just one is dead when you too die and this form comes active, what happens? Does the contingent get the dead primary’s share, or does the living primary get the dead primary’s share and the contingent gets zero?
There are different standard words for those two situations, but ensure you know which one the form is going to deliver, and that that matches your desires. In some cases you can select which interpretation you want. But again understanding the words correctly so you check the box that gets the result you want is real important.
These designations can usually be changed again later, but they can’t be changed after you’re incapacitated or dead. And as a practical matter most folks never revisit this stuff, so even if a change is desirable due to changed circumstances, it very often just doesn’t get done. A lot of annuities and life insurance policies pay out to hated ex-spouses for exactly this reason. Nobody bothered to update the paperwork.
You should be able to name as many beneficiaries as you wish. If you want more than 2, contact the company and ask for a form that allows for more.
You’re claiming the annuity, right? Is this some sort of pension? *
If it is
A) There might be rules about who is the beneficiary - for example, the spouse might automatically be a beneficiary unless they sign a waiver.
B) You might not be able to change the beneficiary after you start collecting. It sounds to me like you will be able to, but I know I can’t due to the payment option I chose.
* Pensions and annuities are technically different , but people sometimes call a particular sort of pension an “annuity” even though an annuity is something you purchase from an insurance company.
This is an annuity managed by Wells Fargo. My mother set it up when she was still working and giving anesthesia 25 years ago.
I am the first to draw money from it. I had the option to cash it in. I preferred having a steady monthly income for my life. Beneficiaries can get up to 20 years from it. It depends on how many years I get.