Call our ERISA lawyers or fill out our online contact form today. Your retirement and welfare benefits were earned, and you have the right to protect them!To speak with an experienced Columbus, OH ERISA lawyer, call Brenner Law Offices LLC today. We're here to help guide you. If you have a 401(k) and want your spouse to be the beneficiary, you should still fill out a beneficiary designation form, naming your spouse. The designation of the other spouse as a beneficiary is revoked as a result of the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment. It is not intended as a substitute for the federal or state law, namely the Ohio Revised Code, the Ohio Administrative. ERISA is one of the most important federal laws protecting the interests of participants in employee benefit plans and their beneficiaries. If you are married, federal law says your spouse is automatically the beneficiary of a 401k or other pension plan. (Summer 2010) for a discussion of Ahmed v.