What to do when a PenAir account holder dies
Contact PenAir — 8-step process, 5 required documents, and penair publishes no service level for deceased-member claims. pod, joint, ira, and hsa claims are released once the death certificate, claimant id, and any documents penair requires under section 30 are in hand; an estate account waits on the applicable state probate (florida summary administration is materially faster than formal administration). a disputed account can be held indefinitely under section 39 until the claimants agree in writing or a court rules.
Brand change
Pen Air Federal Credit Union converted to a Florida state charter effective October 1, 2022 and now operates as PenAir Credit Union. Same institution, same member accounts, no successor — only the charter and the name changed. Effective October 2022.
The procedures below reflect PenAir's accounts. Account servicing may transfer as the change takes effect.
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Lost card or fraud (option 3)
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRAs)
Health Savings Accounts (Ascensus)
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Lost card or fraud (option 3)
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRAs)
Health Savings Accounts (Ascensus)
WebsiteLearn more→
Member Services
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRA claims)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a PenAir member passes away, the Member Services handles the transition of accounts to beneficiaries or the estate. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate, while solely-owned accounts may require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
PenAir provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone or by mailing the required documents.
Death claim process
The death claim process at PenAir works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Report the death by calling PenAir Member Services at 877-473-6247 (local 850-505-3200), or by booking a branch or video appointment at penair.org/contact/schedule-appointment. Put the notice in writing as well: under Section 13 of the Membership and Account Agreement, PenAir may keep recognizing an attorney-in-fact's authority until it receives WRITTEN notice of revocation and has had a reasonable time to act on it — and a power of attorney terminates at death, so an agent who was paying bills for the member must stop and PenAir must be told in writing.
2
Provide a certified copy of the death certificate and government-issued photo ID for the claimant. Documents are mailed to PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514.
3
How the account settles depends on how it is titled:
- Payable on Death (POD) deposit accounts pass to the surviving named beneficiaries (Section 31). When more than one beneficiary survives, they own the funds jointly in EQUAL SHARES WITHOUT rights of survivorship unless PenAir has documented different allocations. If a beneficiary is a minor, PenAir writes a check payable to that beneficiary and delivers it to whoever presents themselves as the parent or legal guardian.
- Joint accounts with right of survivorship pass to the surviving owner(s) — but Section 30 adds that PenAir "may not release any funds to a survivor until all required legal documents are delivered to us," so survivorship is not self-executing at the teller line. A joint account without survivorship passes as part of the deceased owner's estate under the will, trust, or intestacy.
- IRA accounts (Traditional and Roth) pass to the named IRA beneficiary; the IRA designation is separate from any deposit-account POD designation. Distribution options depend on the beneficiary's relationship to the deceased — Wealth Management, 850-505-3200 ext. 8332.
- HSA balances pass to the named HSA beneficiary; the accounts are administered through Ascensus (877-473-6247 ext. 8160).
- An account with no POD beneficiary and no surviving joint owner is released to the personal representative appointed in the deceased member's home-state probate (Florida, Alabama, or Virginia).
4
Expect PenAir to settle the decedent's debts to the credit union out of the deposits first. Sections 22 and 23 give PenAir a statutory and consensual lien on shares and a common-law right of offset, and Section 14 lets it apply funds from ANY account the member had a beneficial interest in — expressly including deposits of Social Security or Veterans benefits — to pay overdrafts and other debts owed to PenAir, treating the application as a voluntary transfer the member authorized. Section 31 goes further: once a POD beneficiary's interest vests, the sums payable are still subject to any right of offset between PenAir and that beneficiary, so a POD beneficiary who owes PenAir money can see the inherited funds reduced.
5
For a Florida-domiciled member, a small estate can avoid formal administration: summary administration is available when the probate estate (less exempt property) is $150,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead more than two years (Fla. Stat. 735.201); the smallest estates may use disposition of personal property without administration (Fla. Stat. 735.301). PenAir releases deposit funds on the resulting court order.
6
If heirs disagree about who is entitled to the money, PenAir does not pick a side: under Section 39 it may hold the funds until every person or organization claiming an interest agrees in a writing that meets PenAir's requirements, or until a court orders it what to do — and it may instead deposit the funds with the court, deducting its attorney fees and court costs from the account. Getting a signed agreement among the heirs (or a court order) before you call is how you keep a PenAir account from being frozen or interpleaded.
7
If a trust is claiming the account, PenAir may require the trust agreement or a Certificate of Trust to confirm the trust exists and that the trustee is authorized to act (Section 36). PenAir is not a party to the trust and does not interpret it.
8
After the claim settles, surviving family members should review and update the beneficiary designations on their own PenAir accounts (by phone, in branch, or by video appointment — there is no online path).
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD beneficiary, surviving joint owner, IRA/HSA beneficiary, or personal representative)
- For a joint account: PenAir will not release funds to a survivor until "all required legal documents" are delivered (Section 30) — confirm the list for the specific account before you go
- Letters of Administration / Letters Testamentary, or a Florida summary-administration order (Fla. Stat. 735.201) or disposition-without-administration order (Fla. Stat. 735.301), for an account with no POD, joint, or beneficiary designation
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust plus trustee photo ID, if a trust is named on or claiming the account (Section 36)
What to know at this institution
PenAir serves members in Florida, Alabama, and Virginia, so estate settlement follows the deceased member's home-state probate. The Membership and Account Agreement (revision RISK072_0325) is the operative document, and it is unusual in what it does NOT say: there is no clause letting PenAir keep honoring checks for a set number of days after death, and no clause about reversing a decedent's direct-deposited government benefits. What it does say matters more to an executor — Section 30 (no release to a survivor until all required legal documents are delivered), Section 31 (POD beneficiaries take in equal shares without survivorship; minors are paid by check delivered to a parent or guardian; POD sums remain subject to PenAir's right of offset against that beneficiary), Sections 14/22/23 (statutory lien, consensual lien, and right of offset reaching any account in which the member had a beneficial interest, including deposits of Social Security or Veterans benefits, to pay debts owed to PenAir), Section 36 (trust agreement or Certificate of Trust may be required; PenAir is not a party to it), and Section 39 (disputed funds may be held until all claimants agree in writing or a court orders, or interpleaded into court with PenAir's attorney fees deducted from the account). Mortgage and home-equity accounts route to the Mortgage Department (850-505-3200 ext. 8360, mortgageteam@penair.org); HSAs are administered through Ascensus (ext. 8160).
Prepare your letter of instruction to PenAir
PenAir accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to PenAir's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at PenAir: PenAir publishes no service level for deceased-member claims. POD, joint, IRA, and HSA claims are released once the death certificate, claimant ID, and any documents PenAir requires under Section 30 are in hand; an estate account waits on the applicable state probate (Florida summary administration is materially faster than formal administration). A disputed account can be held indefinitely under Section 39 until the claimants agree in writing or a court rules. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
PenAir requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD beneficiary, surviving joint owner, IRA/HSA beneficiary, or personal representative), and For a joint account: PenAir will not release funds to a survivor until "all required legal documents" are delivered (Section 30) — confirm the list for the specific account before you go, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and its Membership and Account Agreement is unusually broad about it. Sections 22 and 23 give PenAir a statutory lien on shares and a common-law right of offset, and Section 14 lets PenAir apply funds from any account in which the member had a beneficial interest — expressly including deposits of Social Security or Veterans benefits — to pay overdrafts and other debts owed to PenAir, treating that application as a voluntary transfer the member authorized. Section 31 extends the idea to inherited money: once a Payable on Death beneficiary's interest vests, the sums payable are still subject to any right of offset between PenAir and that beneficiary. So a PenAir auto loan, credit card, or overdraft balance can reduce what a POD beneficiary or an estate ultimately receives. Ask Member Services at 877-473-6247 to confirm the decedent's loan balances before you count on a deposit figure.
Under Section 31 of PenAir's Membership and Account Agreement, a Payable on Death deposit account passes to the surviving named beneficiaries on a certified death certificate and photo ID, outside probate. Two details catch families out. First, when more than one beneficiary survives, they own the funds jointly in EQUAL SHARES WITHOUT rights of survivorship unless PenAir has documented a different allocation — so if one of three named beneficiaries has already died, that share does not simply pass to the other two by survivorship. Second, if a beneficiary is a minor, PenAir writes a check payable to that beneficiary and delivers it to whoever presents themselves as the parent or legal guardian, rather than holding the funds. A POD designation does not reach an IRA, which passes to the separately named IRA beneficiary.
PenAir will not pick a side, and the money can sit still for a long time. Section 39 of the Membership and Account Agreement lets PenAir hold the funds in the account until every person or organization claiming an interest in it agrees in a writing that meets PenAir's requirements, or until PenAir receives a court order telling it what to do. Alternatively PenAir may deposit the funds with a court and ask the court to resolve the dispute — and it may deduct its attorney fees and court costs from the funds before doing so. A related trap is on the joint-account side: Section 30 says PenAir "may not release any funds to a survivor until all required legal documents are delivered to us," so even a straightforward survivorship claim is a documents-first process. Call 877-473-6247 to confirm the exact document list for the account before you go in.
PenAir's Member Services can be reached by phone at 877-473-6247 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple PenAir accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Member Services can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from PenAir primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Lost card or fraud (option 3)
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRAs)
Health Savings Accounts (Ascensus)
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Lost card or fraud (option 3)
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRAs)
Health Savings Accounts (Ascensus)
WebsiteLearn more→
Member Services
Phone877-473-6247
Mailing Address
PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514
Local
Mortgage Department
Wealth Management (IRA claims)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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