Retirement Services Dept has IRA beneficiary (not a customer) who is a non-resident alien living overseas. How would you recommend this individual be identified before funds are disbursed?

Making it easy on myself and assuming English is a common language, I would like a photocopy of a passport and the name of the individual's bank. I would like to call to confirm the information on the passport with the bank's information on the individual and send the payment c/o the bank, PUPID. (I just made that up; others may have more relevant experience than I do.)

The fact that it's an IRA only affects one thing that I know of, the withholding you are required to do on the distribution. There is a blurb in Publication 590 and it refers you to Publication 515 for details.