What to do when a Security Service FCU account holder dies

If a deceased member's accounts have no POD beneficiary designation and no surviving joint owner, the accounts become part of the member's estate and must be settled through the estate administration process. The executor or administrator of the estate must present Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the Survivor Assistance team to claim the funds. SSFCU's Survivor Assistance team is reachable at 1-800-832-4602 (Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM CT) or by email at SurvivorAssistance@ssfcu.org.

Yes. A trust can be named as the beneficiary of a Security Service Traditional IRA or Roth IRA using the IRA Beneficiary Designation form available in the Member Forms Library at ssfcu.org. IRA accounts cannot be retitled into a trust during the owner's lifetime. Naming a trust as IRA beneficiary has significant tax implications under the SECURE Act; consult a tax advisor before doing so, as a non-qualifying trust may be required to distribute the entire IRA within 10 years of the owner's death.

When an account is retitled into the name of a revocable living trust at Security Service, any existing POD beneficiary designation on that account should be reviewed. Trust ownership of the account changes the legal nature of the account — distributions at the death of the last surviving trustee pass to the trust beneficiary, not to a separately named POD. SSFCU notes that on the death of the last surviving trustee, ownership of the account passes to the beneficiary named in the trust document.