Do Your Retirement Account Documents Reflect Your Wishes?

In addition to your retirement accounts, remember to regularly review the beneficiary information on financial instruments such as:

• Annuities
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds
• Life Insurance Policies
• Certificates of Deposit
• Bank Accounts

Some people find it beneficial to engage a financial advisor and an attorney when navigating estate and other financial or legal matters. If you choose to work with any financial and or legal professionals, keep them informed of any changes regarding who has authority to access your account or act on your behalf.

In addition to keeping your records up to date, consider organizing and storing your important documents in a secure and readily accessible location. It is also considered beneficial to inform a trusted loved one of the location of these documents:

• Bank and brokerage statements and account information. If you access these items electronically, provide information about how to get those statements online.
• Locations of any safe-deposit boxes, including where the keys to the safe-deposit boxes are located.
• Mortgage and credit information
• Insurance policies
• Pension and other retirement benefit summaries
• Social Security payment information
• Contact information for financial and medical professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, and securities professionals
• Advance directive and other end of life documents
• Hard copies of your other important paperwork

To manage your beneficiaries on your Equity Trust accounts, log into myEQUITY and navigate to Profile > Beneficiaries.