Manage Your Beneficiaries
One critical aspect of estate planning is to name beneficiaries for your accounts.
As with any deposit account, adding beneficiaries and keeping beneficiary designations current is an important part of your family's future well-being.
For Savings accounts, you may designate beneficiaries, who will receive equal shares.
One way to do this is by using the Beneficiary Designation Form where you will designate your American Express Savings account as a Payable on Death (POD) account. Certain state law restrictions may apply to POD accounts
You are solely responsible for complying with applicable law in establishing a POD account. We make no representation that designating your account as a POD account is advisable or enforceable. You should consult an attorney or other qualified estate planning professional before designating your account as a POD account.
STEP 1: Gather Your Beneficiary Information
The first step is to ensure you have the tax ID number (Social Security number), date of birth, and mailing address for any beneficiaries you wish to add to your account.
STEP 2: Add Your Beneficiaries
- Log in to your Savings account at go.amex/savingsaccount.
- On your Savings dashboard, select Account Services. Click on Beneficiaries and Re-titling, and then Manage Beneficiaries.
- Click Add Beneficiary and then select the account you'd like to add a beneficiary to before clicking Continue.
- Enter your beneficiary information into the form. When complete, click Continue and confirm that the account information on the screen is accurate before clicking Submit.
STEP 3: Manage Your Beneficiaries
It is important to ensure that your beneficiary information is kept up to date. You may easily update the beneficiary information or change the beneficiaries named on your account at any time.
- Log in to Savings and click Account Services from the Savings Dashboard and select Manage Banking Beneficiaries.
- Select the icon to the right of the beneficiary you wish to manage. You can then edit beneficiary information, such as their address, or click the Remove Beneficiary option to remove a beneficiary from the account.
Important Information To Know About Setting Up Beneficiaries
- Beneficiaries named on POD accounts must be individuals and cannot be the name of a trust.
- American Express Savings will split the value of your account equally for all named beneficiaries.
- Beneficiary information is not used in any way unless we are notified of your death.
- You can increase your FDIC coverage by adding beneficiaries to your POD account. To learn more about how beneficiaries can expand your coverage, please visit FDIC.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
MORE ABOUT SAVINGS
Manage Your Beneficiaries
Accounts offered by American
Express National Bank. Member FDIC. Each depositor is insured to at least $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.
* The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as advertised is accurate as of . Interest rate and APY are subject to change at any time without notice before and after a High Yield Savings Account is opened. Interest Rate and APY of a Certificate of Deposit account is fixed once the account is funded. [There is no minimum balance required to open your Account, to avoid being charged a fee, or to obtain the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) disclosed to you]
** The national rate referenced is from the FDIC's published Monthly Rate Cap Information for Savings deposit products. Visit the FDIC website for details.
1 There is no minimum balance required to open your Account, to avoid being charged a fee, or obtain the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) disclosed to you.
2 The interest rate and Annual Percentage Yield (APY) will be disclosed in your account-opening documents, which you will receive after funding your Account. The interest rate and APY for your CD will be fixed and will either be (i) the rate reflected at application submission or (ii) the rate being offered when your CD is funded, whichever is higher. All CDs must be funded within 60 calendar days from the time we approve your application or will be subject to closure. After the CD is opened, additional deposits are not permitted. Early CD withdrawals may be subject to significant penalties which could cause you to lose some of your principal. Please see the Consumer Deposit Account Agreement and Savings Schedules for additional information.
3 For purposes of transferring funds to or from an external bank, business days are Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Transfers can be initiated 24/7 via the website or phone, but any transfers initiated after 7:00 PM Eastern Time or on non-business days will begin processing on the next business day. Funds deposited into your account may be subject to holds. See the Funds Availability section of your Consumer Deposit Account Agreement and Savings Schedules for more information.
4 Calculations are estimates of expected interest earned. Actual results may vary, based on various factors such as leap years, timing of deposits, rounding, and variation in interest rates. The first recurring deposit is assumed to begin in the second period after any initial deposit.
5 IRA Contributions are subject to aggregate annual limits across all IRA plans held at American Express or other institutions. IRA distributions may be taxed and subject to penalties based on IRS guidelines. Required minimum distribution, if applicable, is only relevant to this IRA plan and does not take into consideration other IRA plans held at American Express or other institutions. Please see IRS.gov for more information. We recommend you consult with a financial or tax advisor when making contributions to and distributions from an IRA plan account.