How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Bread Savings
Beneficiaries are managed online, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken online or by phone
Estate planning for your Bread Savings accounts starts with understanding how each one transfers at death. Beneficiary designations and trust retitling both bypass probate, but the right approach depends on the account type, your tax situation, and how much control you want over distributions.
Bread Savings offers 6 accounts, each with its own transfer rules. The sections below cover how to set up beneficiaries, fund a trust, and which products support each approach.
Beneficiary form at Bread Savings
Non-IRA Beneficiary Form and IRA Beneficiary Form (for IRAs).
- First and last name. If you are naming a trust, Bread's instruction is to enter the full trust name in the First Name field box
- Mailing address for the beneficiary
- Relationship to you, chosen from Spouse, Child, Parent, Sibling, Family, Friend, Partner, or Revocable Trust
- Date of birth. If you are naming a trust, Bread's instruction is to enter the date the trust was established in the date of birth box
- Percentage share for each primary beneficiary
- Tax identification number, which Bread requires for IRA (retirement plan) beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's first and last name
- Full trust name (when naming a trust). Entered in the First Name field
- Beneficiary's mailing address
- Beneficiary's relationship to you. Chosen from Spouse, Child, Parent, Sibling, Family, Friend, Partner, or Revocable Trust
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Date the trust was established (when naming a trust). Entered in the date of birth box
- Percentage share for each primary beneficiary
- Beneficiary's tax identification number (for an IRA beneficiary)
- The existing account number, if you are converting an account you already hold
- Name of the personal revocable trust, its date of execution, and the Social Security number serving as the trust's Tax Identification Number
- Name, address, SSN, date of birth, mobile number and e-mail for Grantor/Trustee 1 and, if applicable, Grantor/Trustee 2
- Up to five trust beneficiaries with name, relationship to the grantor/trustee, date of birth, and percentage; the percentages must total 100
- Typed initials from every grantor/trustee, which is how the form is electronically signed (if there is more than one grantor/trustee, both must sign)
Required Documents
- Bread Savings Certification of Trust, completed and initialed. The form Bread Savings requires; a generic certification is not the route Bread Savings gives
- Trust name, date of execution and the SSN serving as its tax ID. The personal Social Security number serving as the trust's Tax Identification Number
- Name, address, SSN, date of birth, mobile number and email (for each grantor/trustee)
- Trust beneficiaries' names, relationships, dates of birth and percentages. Up to five trust beneficiaries; the percentages must total 100
- Existing account number (when converting an account you already hold)
- Pages from the trust agreement and other supporting documents (when Bread Savings requests them). Bread Savings "may require copies of certain pages from the trust agreement, as well as other supporting documents."
- First and last name. If you are naming a trust, Bread's instruction is to enter the full trust name in the First Name field box
- Mailing address for the beneficiary
- Relationship to you, chosen from Spouse, Child, Parent, Sibling, Family, Friend, Partner, or Revocable Trust
- Date of birth. If you are naming a trust, Bread's instruction is to enter the date the trust was established in the date of birth box
- Percentage share for each primary beneficiary
- Tax identification number, which Bread requires for IRA (retirement plan) beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's first and last name
- Full trust name (when naming a trust). Entered in the First Name field
- Beneficiary's mailing address
- Beneficiary's relationship to you. Chosen from Spouse, Child, Parent, Sibling, Family, Friend, Partner, or Revocable Trust
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Date the trust was established (when naming a trust). Entered in the date of birth box
- Percentage share for each primary beneficiary
- Beneficiary's tax identification number (for an IRA beneficiary)
What Bread Savings says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Bread Savings's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Who can be named1
- A trust
A trust can be named as beneficiary. Its full name goes in the First Name field and its establishment date in the date of birth field; "Revocable Trust" is a relationship option.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
Each primary beneficiary is given a percentage share.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
Bread Savings states: "If you live in a Community Property State (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA or WI) and have not listed a spouse as primary beneficiary at 100%, we will contact you to obtain additional documentation."1
Beneficiary forms Bread Savings issues2
- Non-IRA Beneficiary Form
Completed by the account owner, in Online Banking. Completed online.1
Return to
Mailing address: Bread Savings, P.O. Box 182084, Columbus, OH 43218-2084
- IRA Beneficiary Form
For IRAs. Completed by the account owner, in Online Banking. Completed online.1
Return to
Mailing address: Bread Savings, P.O. Box 182084, Columbus, OH 43218-2084
What Bread Savings's agreement says about beneficiaries2
Which accounts a trust can hold2
- Trust account
Bread Savings states: "We will only open accounts for personal revocable trusts created for the benefit of individuals or families where the grantor(s) and trustee(s) are the same person(s) and one of those person's Social Security number serves as the Tax Identification Number for the trust."2
The Certification covers non-retirement high-yield savings and certificate of deposit accounts only.2
Business trusts, irrevocable trusts and trusts using an EIN are not eligible.3
- IRA
Retirement accounts cannot be retitled to a trust.2
Trust account forms Bread Savings issues1
- Bread Savings Certification of Trust
For trust accounts. Completed by every grantor/trustee, signed with typed initials. Available to download.2
What Bread Savings says about trust accounts4
- The trust's tax identification number
The online application offers exactly one trust variant, "Revocable with SSN," and permits no other tax ID type.3
- Successor trustees
The Certification states: "If a Trustee dies or becomes incompetent, the Bank reserves the right to require documentation reasonably acceptable to the Bank identifying the successor trustee."2
"The Bank will not accept responsibility to act as a trustee or successor trustee under any circumstances, regardless of any trust agreement or other trust document that says otherwise," and "The Bank has no fiduciary duty to you as the trustee or to any beneficiary of the Trust."2
- Who signs for the trust
Where there are co-trustees, "you authorize each party to operate the account without the consent or approval of any other party ... even if the account is in the name of one party 'and' another party."2
Every grantor/trustee signs the Certification by typing their initials. If there is more than one grantor/trustee, both must sign.2
- Review of the trust document
The trustee agrees to notify the bank in writing of any amendment to the trust and to complete a new Certification. Without an updated Certification the bank may rely on the old one.2
The bank acts in sole reliance on the Certification even if it holds a copy of the trust agreement.2
Not in Bread Savings's published guidance1
- A beneficiary form to download
Sources
Data sourced from Bread Savings primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Bread Savings instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Bread Savings primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Bread Savings estate support
Bread Savings Customer Care
Phone
TTY
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Mailing address
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