No. Once a power of attorney document is executed and accepted by the bank and the agent is added to the account, the agent is authorized to act on behalf of the principal during the principal’s lifetime, according to the powers that the principal has included in their power of attorney document (unless the principal revokes the power of attorney or until the principal passes away). A POD beneficiary, on the other hand, does not have any authority over the account or the funds in the account until the owner has died. At the death of the account owner, the POD beneficiary owns the funds in the account. An account owner may add, remove or change beneficiaries on the account at any time. (Note: Despite the difference in the roles of an agent and a POD beneficiary, a principal may name the same person as agent and beneficiary.)