Beneficiary and Spousal Consent. An Employee’s beneficiary for the purposes of this Plan shall be the beneficiary designated by him under the GE Pension Plan, except in those instances where a separate beneficiary designation is in effect under this Plan. The provisions of the GE Pension Plan with respect to the designation or selection of a beneficiary shall apply to the designation or selection of a beneficiary under this Plan. For purposes of clarity, the requirement in the GE Pension Plan for a Spouse’s Consent to the designation or selection of a beneficiary, or the election of alternative distribution forms hereunder, shall apply under this Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of Non-Grandfathered Plan Benefits, any elections governing beneficiaries made in accordance with Section VII(b) of this Plan, as restated July 1, 1991, or subsequent actions of the Company related thereto, shall continue to apply. No such elections, however, shall direct a different time or form of payment of Non-Grandfathered Plan Benefits from the time and form of payment prescribed under this Plan, nor shall any Employee who did not make such an election before this restatement be permitted to submit such an election.

With respect to Non-Grandfathered Plan Benefits, any provision of this Section X or other provision of this Plan that refers to the time or form of benefits under the GE Pension Plan shall be deemed to be a reference to the terms of the GE Pension Plan in effect on December 31, 2008.

An Alternate Payee must complete and deliver to the Plan Administrator all required forms within thirty (30) days from the date the Alternate Payee is notified by the Plan Administrator that the DRO has been accepted. The Alternate Payee will be responsible for payment of any federal, state or local taxes.

This Section 14.8 shall apply whenever the consent of a Member’s spouse is required for an election, waiver or designation made by such Member under the Plan. Any spousal consent shall be in writing and shall be witnessed by a Plan representative (if permitted by the Company) or by a notary public. The spousal consent shall acknowledge the effect of the Member’s action and shall, if applicable, specify the non-spouse Beneficiary being designated (including any class of Beneficiaries or contingent Beneficiaries). The spousal consent shall be irrevocable. Any other provision of the Plan notwithstanding, no spousal consent shall be required if # it is established in accordance with the Company’s administrative procedures that there is no spouse or that the spouse cannot be located or # the Member is legally separated or has been abandoned (within the meaning of local law) and has an appropriate court order, unless a qualified domestic relations order provides otherwise. If the spouse is legally incompetent to give consent, the spouse’s legal guardian (including the Member) may give consent.

Section #(a)(5)(B) is amended to expand the methods by which a beneficiary may be designated, where spousal consent is not required. As amended, [Section 4.2(a)(5)(B)] shall read as follows:

Beneficiary Designation – Subject to the spousal consent requirements of Section 5.2, the participant shall have the right to designate his beneficiaries, including a contingent death beneficiary, and shall have the right at any time to change such beneficiaries. The designation shall be made in writing, either on a form signed by the participant and supplied by and filed with the plan administrator or through an electronic procedure established by the plan administrator for the designation of a beneficiary where no spousal consent is required by Section 5.2. If the participant fails to designate a beneficiary, or if the designated person or persons predecease the participant, "beneficiary" shall mean the spouse, children, parents, siblings (by the whole blood or adoption), or estate of the participant, in the order listed. For this purpose, the terms children, parents, and siblings shall exclude step relationships.

No Spousal Rights. No spouse, former spouse, Beneficiary or other person shall have any right to participate in the Participant’s designation of a form or time of payment.

Beneficiary. “Beneficiary” means an individual (human being), a trust that is a United States person within the meaning of the Code, a person that has been recognized as a charitable organization under Code section 170(b), or the Participant’s estate designated in accordance with Section 5.6 to receive all or a part of the Participant’s Account in the event of the Participant’s death prior to full distribution thereof. A person so designated shall not be considered a Beneficiary until the death of the Participant.

Beneficiary. The Participant shall designate a beneficiary in writing and in such manner as is acceptable to the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Verizon (or her or his designee). Each such designation shall revoke all prior designations by the Participant with respect to the Participant’s benefits under the Plan and shall be effective only when filed by the Participant with the Company during the Participant’s lifetime. If the Participant fails to so designate a beneficiary, or if no such designated beneficiary survives the Participant, the Participant’s beneficiary shall be the Participant’s estate.

Beneficiary. Holder’s rights hereunder shall be exercisable during Holder’s lifetime only by Holder or Holder’s legal representative. Holder may file with the Committee a written designation of beneficiary (such person(s) being the Holder’s “Beneficiary”), on such form as may be prescribed by the Committee. Holder may, from time to time, amend or revoke a designation of Beneficiary. In the event that Holder does not file a written designation of Beneficiary, or where such Beneficiary predeceases the Holder, the following rules shall apply: # the Holder’s beneficiary designation for the basic life insurance benefits provided by the Company shall be Holder’s Beneficiary; and # in the absence of such basic life insurance beneficiary, or in the event that such basic life insurance beneficiary predeceases the Holder, the Holder’s estate shall be deemed to be Holder’s Beneficiary.