Estate planning at Vanguard

Log in to your Vanguard account, go to Profile & Account Settings, and select Beneficiaries. Choose the IRA account and add primary and/or contingent beneficiaries with percentage allocations. You can also call 800-662-2739 or mail the IRA Beneficiary Designation Kit (Form S345) to Vanguard, P.O. Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998-2901. Designations replace all previous beneficiary designations for the IRA types specified on the form.

Yes. Log in to your Vanguard account and start a new trust account application through the Open an Account section. Provide trust information (name, date, trustees, successor trustees), upload the first page and signature page(s) of your trust document, and sign electronically (available for revocable trusts). Vanguard cannot retitle an existing account -- you must open a new trust account and transfer assets via an in-kind transfer. New clients should call 877-662-7447 to start the process.

Yes. A trust can be named as beneficiary on both retirement and non-retirement Vanguard accounts. Provide the trust name and creation date when designating. No trust documentation is required at the time of designation, but it will be required at payout. For IRAs, naming a trust as beneficiary may affect required minimum distribution schedules for inherited accounts under SECURE Act rules.

Vanguard has transferred existing Individual 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and multi-participant SEP-IRA plans to Ascensus for administration and recordkeeping. New plans of these types are established directly with Ascensus. Vanguard continues to offer one-person SEP-IRA plans directly. Contact Ascensus for beneficiary designation and plan administration questions on transferred plans.

A medallion signature guarantee is not required when the SSN is not changing -- for example, when the same person is both the individual account holder and trustee of a revocable trust. If the online application encounters issues, you can print the completed form, sign it, and submit it via Vanguard secure messaging as a scanned PDF along with the required trust pages.

The Vanguard Cash Plus Account is a brokerage cash management account with an FDIC-insured bank sweep program covering up to $1.25 million for individual accounts and $2.5 million for joint accounts. It includes next-day bank transfers, mobile check deposit, and direct deposit compatibility. There are no fees and no minimum balance. It does not include checks or an ATM card, but provides routing and account numbers for bill pay and direct deposit. A TOD beneficiary designation can be added.