What to do when a PenFed account holder dies
Contact PenFed — 6-step process, 8 required documents, and penfed does not publish a settlement service level. joint accounts with survivorship pass to the surviving owner under the account agreement; a beneficiary or estate claim runs on penfed's document review, and penfed warns that any missing form or document delays processing. secure upload is the fastest of the three submission channels (upload, fax, mail).
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009
Checking and Savings support
International / direct dial
Mortgage and Home Equity
Hearing Impaired (TTY)
Lost or stolen card / unauthorized transactions
Alternate fax
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009
Checking and Savings support
International / direct dial
Mortgage and Home Equity
Hearing Impaired (TTY)
Lost or stolen card / unauthorized transactions
Alternate fax
WebsiteLearn more→
Estate Accounts (PenFed Member Services)
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009 (courier: 13220 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68164)
Alternate fax
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a PenFed member passes away, the Estate Accounts (PenFed 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.
PenFed offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what PenFed requires:
Filing a claim
1
Notify PenFed at 800-247-5626 (the number on PenFed's estate instruction sheet) and request certified copies of the death certificate from the county registrar, health department, or funeral director. PenFed's own guidance is to obtain 10-20 certified copies (What to Do When a Loved One Dies).
2
How the account settles depends on how it is titled — PenFed's account agreements (Form 794 Membership Disclosures, effective January 2026) set the rules:
- Sole owner with beneficiaries: paragraph 13 of the Checking Account/MMSA Agreement provides that the entire balance is distributed at death to the designated beneficiaries. PenFed expressly carves out accounts titled as a revocable living trust — those pass under the trust, not by beneficiary designation.
- Joint with right of survivorship: the funds belong to the surviving owner(s).
- Joint WITHOUT survivorship: PenFed may, on request, pay the funds either to a surviving joint owner or to the representative or heirs of the deceased owner, and states that ownership "will be determined between these parties" — PenFed does not adjudicate the split.
- IRAs: pass to the beneficiary named on Form 732, claimed on Form 733. An IRA cannot be opened under an estate.
- No beneficiary, no surviving joint owner: the account is settled through an estate account opened by the court-appointed personal representative.
3
To claim a deceased member's IRA, complete Form 733 — IRA Instructions for Withdrawal by Surviving Beneficiary:
- A death certificate is required for a beneficiary withdrawal.
- An individual beneficiary signs the form themselves; when a TRUST or ESTATE is the beneficiary, the trustee, executor, or representative payee signs it and PenFed requires fiduciary documentation before processing.
- A spouse can transfer the funds to their own PenFed IRA, transfer to an IRA at another institution, or take a full distribution. A non-spouse elects an inherited IRA (at PenFed or elsewhere) or a full distribution by check — the check option is the one PenFed directs a trust or estate beneficiary to use.
- Moving the funds into a new PenFed inherited IRA requires the beneficiary to establish PenFed membership and open the inherited IRA.
- If the decedent had not taken the current year's required minimum distribution at PenFed, the form is where you tell PenFed whether to process it.
4
To open an estate account, follow PenFed's Estate Account Instruction Sheet:
- Establish the estate membership and share account with Application for Estate Accounts (Form 20-EST) or Form 220-EST for a Premium Online Savings account
- Supply a copy of the decedent's death certificate, the court-issued document appointing the executor or personal representative, the IRS TIN assignment verification letter for the estate, and government-issued ID for any non-member executor
- Add estate accounts as needed: Checking (Form 151-EST), a Money Market Certificate (Form 688), Designation of Ownership (Form 100), and Form 733 for an IRA claim
- PenFed will open an estate account whether or not the executor qualifies for membership — an executor is NOT required to become a PenFed member
5
Submit everything by secure upload at home.penfed.org/s/document-upload (there is a guest upload path for non-members), by fax to 800-278-2212 or 800-557-7328, or by mail to Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009 (courier: 13220 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68164). PenFed states that missing forms or documents will delay the request.
6
Expect PenFed to apply its statutory lien before releasing funds: under the Statutory Lien Agreement in Form 794, PenFed may charge any balance in any account — including an account on which the decedent was only a joint owner — to pay indebtedness owed by the member "or any person who is listed as a joint owner on my accounts, including a deceased joint owner," without further notice. IRAs are excluded from that lien.
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate (PenFed advises obtaining 10-20 certified copies)
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, surviving joint owner, or personal representative — required for any non-member executor
- Court-issued document appointing the executor / personal representative (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
- IRS TIN assignment verification letter for the estate
- Application for Estate Accounts (Form 20-EST), or Form 220-EST for a Premium Online Savings estate account
- Form 151-EST (estate checking) and Form 100 (Designation of Ownership), as applicable
- Form 733 — IRA Instructions for Withdrawal by Surviving Beneficiary, to claim a deceased member's IRA
- Fiduciary documentation (trustee, executor, or representative-payee authority) whenever a trust or estate is the named IRA beneficiary
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
PenFed's estate process is form-driven and centralized in Omaha, not branch-driven. Three constraints matter for an executor: checking, savings, and certificates can be titled under an estate but IRAs CANNOT be opened under an estate; PenFed will not open loans under an estate; and no ATM or debit card is issued on an estate account. An executor does not need to become a PenFed member. Before releasing funds PenFed can exercise the statutory lien in its Membership Disclosures (Form 794, effective January 2026), which expressly reaches balances in an account held with a DECEASED JOINT OWNER to pay that person's debts to PenFed and reaches otherwise statutorily protected funds; IRAs are carved out. Deposit account agreements are governed by the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the UCC, regardless of the state where the estate is probated.
Prepare your letter of instruction to PenFed
PenFed accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to PenFed's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at PenFed: PenFed does not publish a settlement service level. Joint accounts with survivorship pass to the surviving owner under the account agreement; a beneficiary or estate claim runs on PenFed's document review, and PenFed warns that any missing form or document delays processing. Secure upload is the fastest of the three submission channels (upload, fax, mail). Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by PenFed includes Certified death certificate (PenFed advises obtaining 10-20 certified copies), Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, surviving joint owner, or personal representative — required for any non-member executor, and Court-issued document appointing the executor / personal representative (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
PenFed's Estate Account Instruction Sheet requires the Application for Estate Accounts (Form 20-EST), or Form 220-EST if the estate wants a Premium Online Savings account, plus four documents: a copy of the decedent's death certificate, the court-issued document appointing the executor or personal representative, the IRS TIN assignment verification letter for the estate, and government-issued ID for any non-member executor. An executor is NOT required to become a PenFed member. Three limits apply once the estate account is open: checking, savings, and certificates can be titled under the estate but IRAs cannot; PenFed will not open loans under an estate; and no ATM or debit card is issued. Submit the packet by secure upload at home.penfed.org/s/document-upload, by fax to 800-278-2212 or 800-557-7328, or by mail to Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009.
PenFed has a dedicated form for this: Form 733, IRA Instructions for Withdrawal by Surviving Beneficiary. A death certificate is required. An individual beneficiary signs the form personally; if the named beneficiary is a TRUST or an ESTATE, the trustee, executor, or representative payee signs it and PenFed requires fiduciary documentation before it will process the withdrawal. A surviving spouse can move the funds to their own PenFed IRA, transfer them to an IRA at another institution, or take a full distribution. A non-spouse chooses an inherited IRA (at PenFed or elsewhere) or a full distribution by check, and PenFed directs a trust or estate beneficiary to the check option. Opening a PenFed inherited IRA requires the beneficiary to establish PenFed membership. The form is also where you tell PenFed to process any required minimum distribution the decedent had not yet taken for the year.
Yes — this is one of the sharper clauses in PenFed's Membership Disclosures (Form 794, effective January 2026). The Statutory Lien Agreement lets PenFed charge against any balance in any account, including accounts on which the member is only a joint owner, to pay indebtedness owed by the member "or any person who is listed as a joint owner on my accounts, including a deceased joint owner," and it reaches funds that would otherwise be statutorily protected from legal process. PenFed can act without further notice to the member or the joint owner. Individual retirement accounts are carved out of the lien. A survivor who was joint on an account with someone who died owing PenFed money should expect the balance to be reduced before it is released.
It is settled through the estate. PenFed's Checking Account/MMSA Agreement (paragraph 13 of Form 794) says a sole owner's entire balance passes at death to the designated beneficiaries — with an express carve-out for an account titled as a revocable living trust, which passes under the trust instead. Where there is no beneficiary and no survivor, the court-appointed personal representative opens an estate account with Form 20-EST and PenFed releases the funds through it. For a joint account WITHOUT right of survivorship, PenFed may pay the funds either to a surviving joint owner or to the representative or heirs of the deceased owner, and states that ownership "will be determined between these parties" — PenFed will not decide the split. All of these account agreements are governed by the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Uniform Commercial Code, whatever state the estate is being probated in.
PenFed's Estate Accounts (PenFed Member Services) can be reached by phone at 800-247-5626 and fax at 800-557-7328 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple PenFed accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Estate Accounts (PenFed Member Services) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from PenFed primary sources (17 pages reviewed). How we research.
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009
Checking and Savings support
International / direct dial
Mortgage and Home Equity
Hearing Impaired (TTY)
Lost or stolen card / unauthorized transactions
Alternate fax
WebsiteLearn more→
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009
Checking and Savings support
International / direct dial
Mortgage and Home Equity
Hearing Impaired (TTY)
Lost or stolen card / unauthorized transactions
Alternate fax
WebsiteLearn more→
Estate Accounts (PenFed Member Services)
Phone800-247-5626
Fax800-557-7328
Mailing Address
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Box 247009, Omaha, NE 68124-7009 (courier: 13220 Fort Street, Omaha, NE 68164)
Alternate fax
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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