§ 6108 — Designation of beneficiaries of insurance or employee death benefits not testamentary

(a) In general.--The designation of beneficiaries of life insurance, annuity or endowment contracts, or of any agreement entered into by an insurance company in connection therewith, supplemental thereto or in settlement thereof, and the designation of beneficiaries of benefits payable upon or after the death of a participant under any pension, bonus, profit-sharing, retirement annuity, or other employee-benefit plan, shall not be considered testamentary and shall not be subject to any law governing the transfer of property by will. This section shall apply regardless of whether the insurance contract or the employee-benefit plan designates the ultimate beneficiaries or makes the proceeds payable, directly or indirectly, to a trustee of a trust under a will or under a separate trust instrument which designates the ultimate beneficiaries, and regardless of whether any such trust is amendable or revocable, or both, or is funded or unfunded, and notwithstanding a reservation to the settlor of all rights of ownership in the insurance contracts or under the employee-benefit plans. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the conveyance, funds or other property so passing to a trust under a will shall become and be a part of the testamentary trust to be administered and disposed of in accordance with the provisions thereof, without forming any part of the testator's estate for administration by his personal representative.

(b) Applicability.--The provisions of subsection (a) of this section relating to the designation of beneficiaries of benefits payable under employee-benefit plans shall apply to designations made prior or subsequent to January 1, 1970, by persons who die on or after said date, and shall not be deemed to create any implication of invalidity of any such designation made by any person who dies before said date.