Beneficiary

Banking & Credit

A beneficiary is the person or entity you designate to receive an account's assets upon your death — bypassing probate. Beneficiary designations are required for retirement accounts (IRAs, 401k), life insurance, annuities, and Transfer-on-Death (TOD) brokerage accounts. Critically, beneficiary designations override your will. A divorced person who never updated their 401(k) beneficiary may leave assets to their ex-spouse despite a will leaving everything to their new spouse. Review beneficiaries after every major life event: marriage, divorce, birth, death. Per-stirpes designations pass to a beneficiary's descendants if the beneficiary predeceases you.