Can I list my revocable living trust as the beneficiary of my retirement account?

You can, but do it carefully, because naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA or 401(k) has significant tax consequences. Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited retirement account within 10 years, and improperly drafted trusts can lose favorable treatment or force faster, higher-taxed distributions. To preserve the stretch options that do remain, the trust generally must qualify as a 'see-through' trust with specific language. For a surviving spouse, naming them directly is usually more flexible than routing through a trust. Trusts as retirement-account beneficiaries make sense for minor children, spendthrift heirs, or special-needs situations, but this is an area where a mistake is costly. Have an estate attorney confirm the trust language before you make the designation.