Joyce
and Burton had been married for forty-seven years. Not long before he died, Burton
looked into converting some of their certificates of deposit into a charitable
gift annuity.
He
and Joyce met with their advisors and found out it was a wonderful idea.
Joyce:
We met with our financial advisor and looked at the idea. When I saw the income
we would have for the rest of both of our lives and compared to what we were receiving
from our CD's, I was amazed! Plus there were tax benefits that helped us immediately.
And now, I don't have to do a thing - it's all taken care of.
The
development officer explained how they could use our support and what it meant
to them. It was something Burton and I did together, and I'm happy; really happy
we did it when we could do it together!"
A
charitable
gift annuity can provide tax benefits now and
a life-time income for the donor and a beneficiary if desired. Perhaps also it
brought peace of mind to Burton knowing that Joyce would have the resources she
needed if he was no longer there.
A
deferred gift annuity is a variation on a gift
annuity. A gift is made and the charitable organization promises in return to
pay you an income stream that begins on a future date you specify. Since the payments
do not begin for a period of time, the fund will grow without withdrawals until
the payments begin. With more money in the fund once payments begin, the payments
will be larger than with an immediate annuity.
A flexible deferred gift annuity allows you to pick a range of dates when the annuity payments will begin. For example, you might choose to begin quarterly payments on March 31st of any year not earlier than 2013 or later than 2018. The payment amount will be based on the year you choose in the future to have payments begin. The charitable gift deduction is based on the earliest possible beginning date (2013 in this case) and is taken in the year of the gift, subject to your tax circumstances.
An attractive benefit of deferred gift annuities is that
they enable a donor to make a gift now and take a charitable income tax deduction
now while in a high tax bracket. Income may be deferred, for instance, until after
retirement, when the rate of tax will presumably be lower. Deferred gift annuities
are creative ways to delay income to pay for children's or grandchildren's college
expenses, supplement your retirement income, or assist with assisted-care living
arrangements that may be inevitable.
A part of each payment, as in any
gift annuity, may be tax-free for a period of years. However, the precise amount
of each payment will depend on the tax rules in effect when the payments start.
Charitable gift annuities are the gifts that keep on giving. Rates on
charitable gift annuities are based on age and whether the contract is
immediate or deferred. If you would like an illustration of this life
income to address your particular situation, please click
here and fill out the response form and send us the appropriate information.
To look at some specific rates on current gift annuities, click
here. A generic
example of a charitable gift annuity is available as well as a graphic
example.
Now
click here
to meet Susan and Fred.
For additional information, please call Wilfredo Lacro, Major Gifts and Gift Planning Officer, HOPE Services at 408-284-2842 or wlacro@hopeservices.org