Is my VALIC retirement fund part of my estate?

Your question brings up a few different issues. For distribution purposes: A tax-deferred retirement account would normally be distributed under a beneficiary designation, which means that the Will would not control the disposition of those assets unless you designated your estate as the beneficiary. For income tax reasons, designating your estate as the beneficiary of a tax-deferred retirement savings account is NOT a good idea. Therefore, for purposes of dividing up your assets, ideally the tax-deferred retirement fund should NOT be controlled by your Will. Instead, you want the beneficiary designation to coordinate with your distribution wishes. It can name the same people who will benefit under the Will as beneficiaries. For estate tax purposes, the retirement fund will be added to your other assets in determining whether you have a taxable estate. Georgia has no estate tax, however, and the federal estate tax exemption is very high ($5.43M today, less taxable gifts made during lifetime), so most Georgia residents will not have taxable estates. For income tax purposes, cash or other assets you leave to your beneficiaries is normally not subject to income tax in their hands. However, a tax-deferred retirement account WILL normally be considered taxable income to your beneficiaries, if you didn't pay income taxes on the funds in the account during your lifetime. Ideally, consult a good estate planning attorney for help in determining the best way to leave your assets to your desired beneficiaries. It's a complicated area.