If you are married at the time of your death, your spouse will be the beneficiary of the death benefit unless you elect otherwise. If you wish to designate a beneficiary other than, or in addition to, your spouse, your spouse must consent to waive the right to receive the entire death benefit. Your spouse's consent must be in writing and be witnessed by a notary or Plan representative.

You may appoint one or more beneficiaries by completing and submitting a beneficiary designation form online via the Vanguard website. You may change your beneficiary at any time before your death by completing and submitting a new beneficiary designation form online via the Vanguard website. If you have not named a beneficiary or your beneficiary predeceases you, payment will be made to your surviving spouse, if any. If you have not named a beneficiary or your beneficiary predeceases you, and you do not have a surviving spouse at the time of your death, payment will be made to your estate.

If you have more than one beneficiary and a beneficiary dies before benefit payments are completed, the share payable to the deceased beneficiary will be paid to the beneficiaries who are still living in proportion to the shares otherwise payable to the living beneficiaries.

To be entitled to receive any undistributed vested portion of your accounts, any person or persons designated as a beneficiary must be alive and any entity designated as a beneficiary must be in existence at the time of your death. If the order of the deaths of you and your primary beneficiary cannot be determined or have occurred within 120 hours of each other, you will be deemed to have survived your beneficiary.

If you designate your spouse as your beneficiary and later become divorced, that designation will be deemed revoked, effective as of the date the Plan Administrator receives evidence of the divorce, and will no longer be valid. However, if you wish to keep your former spouse as your beneficiary, you may re-designate your former spouse as a non-spouse beneficiary after your divorce is finalized.

If your death, or the death of your beneficiary, is the result of a formally charged criminal act involving any other beneficiary, any claim involving the charged beneficiary will be suspended, and any distribution to such beneficiary will be held, until the resolution of the criminal charge. If the beneficiary is convicted of this criminal act, the beneficiary may not receive any undistributed amounts from your vested account balance.

Inherited accounts opened for minor beneficiaries will be controlled by the minor's authorized representative. The authorized representative must demonstrate to the Plan Administrator's satisfaction to be authorized to act on behalf of the minor.