Want to know how to add and edit your beneficiaries in your Fidelity account? Watch our video as we show you how, step by step.

00:00 What is a beneficiary?
00:52 Types of beneficiaries
01:20 How to add and update beneficiaries at Fidelity

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Hey everyone, welcome to FidQs—the place where we answer your top Fidelity customer questions...  as quickly and simply as humanly possible.
 
Today, we’re going to tackle a topic that’s capital “I”, Important. For you, your family, and your future. 

It’s beneficiaries:  
 
What are they?  
Why do you need one?  
What kinds are there?  
And how do you add or update one at Fidelity?  
 
Let’s get into it. 

A beneficiary is the legal term for someone who will inherit assets from you.

It's very important to designate one or more beneficiaries so that your financial and other assets can be distributed according to your wishes. You can assign a % of assets to each beneficiary.
 
Failure to name a beneficiary can result in your assets being held in probate and a probate judge deciding where your assets go.

Simply put, when you name a beneficiary, YOU decide where your assets go and YOU clarify that for everyone involved.  

Alright, so what kind of beneficiaries are there?  

Well, there’s a primary beneficiary— the person or people selected by you — who will receive a specified share of your account should something happen to you.  
 
And there’s a contingent beneficiary — the alternate person or people — who will receive the specified share of your account in the event that none of your primary beneficiaries survive you.  

And here’s something that even I didn’t know: you can add up to 50 primary and 50 contingent beneficiaries on an account. 

Alright, so how do you add or update a beneficiary on your Fidelity account? 

Well first, before you add anyone, make sure you have all of the following at your disposal: 
• Their beneficiary type (e.g., spouse, non-spouse, partnership, trust, corporation, LLC, or any combination of the above) 
• Their full name 
• Their date of birth 
• Their Social Security number (this is optional) 
• And their favorite kind of pie. Just kidding but it is good to know.  

Next, log in to Fidelity and go to Accounts. 
Click More and go to Account Features

Go to Beneficiaries and then click manage.

Next, select the account you want to add a beneficiary to and click Add.

You’ll then be able to add primary beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries.

Next, you’ll be able to type in your beneficiary’s name, date of birth, and relationship to you.

To allow for your primary beneficiary’s children or even grandchildren to receive benefits, if necessary, you can check the Per Stirpes box. Per Stirpes is just a fancy Latin term that literally means “by roots”.

Add and assign the percentage of your assets that you want to give each beneficiary.

Once you’ve finished adding all your beneficiaries, click Next and you’ll be taken to a review page.

Make sure everything looks good, click Confirm, and then Submit.  

Now, let’s quickly go over how to update your beneficiaries: 
• Log in to your NetBenefits account  
• Then go to Accounts & Benefits on the main menu and select Update your Profile. 
• And under Beneficiaries, you’ll be able to view or edit the beneficiaries on file.

Alrighty, voila. You’ve added a beneficiary, and as I mentioned earlier that is a super important thing to do— Pat yourself on the back. Nice work.   

Just to recap, because I’m all about helpful reminders, this video is all about adding, updating, and the importance of beneficiaries.  
  
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments down below.
And, if you liked this video, please give it a like, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell so you can receive notifications for future videos.  
  
See you next time.