How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Congressional FCU

Form POD 1120 is for personal deposit accounts only.¹

A POD beneficiary may be named only on an individual account or a multiple-party account with right of survivorship.¹

A POD designation on a multiple-party account without survivorship is ineffective.¹

An IRA beneficiary is named on the IRA Beneficiary Designation Form, not on form POD 1120, whose first bullet reads "Do not use this form to add a Beneficiary to an IRA."^{1, 2}

No POD designation is permitted on corporate, unincorporated association, charitable or civic organization, partnership, joint venture or other business accounts.³

No POD designation is permitted on a fiduciary or trust account where the relationship is not established solely by the terms of the account, so an account is held in the trust's name or names the trust as POD beneficiary, not both.³

The beneficiary block on form POD 1120 accepts an EIN as well as an SSN, so a revocable trust can be named as the POD beneficiary of a deposit account.¹

A trust can be named as beneficiary on the IRA Beneficiary Designation Form.²

The member and every joint owner sign and date the form.¹

A POD must be requested by an owner of the account. An agent acting under a power of attorney may not appoint POD beneficiaries.¹

Alterations or crossed-out information void the form. The credit union cannot accept it and will require a new one.¹

Part 4 of the IRA Beneficiary Designation Form is a Spousal Consent block, for a married IRA owner naming someone other than the spouse.²

For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the member and every joint owner. Available to download.¹

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For IRAs. Available to download.²

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Filing a new form revokes every earlier POD beneficiary: "Any POD beneficiary(s) designated on this account prior to this date are hereby revoked." The most recently signed and dated form on file controls distribution.¹

Changes must be in writing, on a form acceptable to the credit union, signed by all account owners then living.¹

Death benefits are paid first to primary beneficiaries; if some primary beneficiaries die before the owner, the benefit is divided among the surviving primaries. Contingent beneficiaries take only if no primary survives.¹

The POD designation may not be altered by will, and the funds pass by operation of law rather than as part of the estate.¹

Custodial, trust and estate accounts are offered. The About Your Accounts booklet states that "the signature cards for Custodial, Trust, and Estate Accounts contain additional rules and regulations not included in this booklet."³

An IRA cannot be retitled to a trust.²

Certificates can be moved without a dividend penalty only at maturity. The About Your Accounts booklet waives the early-withdrawal penalty for death, not for retitling.³