Estate planning can help preserve faith by creating a legacy
Special to The Criterion
Having a financially balanced life that reflects your priorities takes careful planning.
As members of God’s family, we are called to share what we have with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Balancing the needs of our immediate family with those of our Church family can be challenging.
Planning for the future can take different forms throughout our lives.
For those beginning a career, it is difficult to imagine that retirement will ever come. For those nearing the end of their working years, it can be surprising how quickly retirement arrives.
In both situations, and places in between, there are opportunities to provide treasure to the Church, which address our desire to care for ourselves, our immediate family and our Church family.
Charitable giving is unique for each of us, and the circumstances that make a gift suitable are different. This is the first in a series of three columns that will outline charitable giving opportunities at various life stages. In this column, options for giving during your working life will be described.
The deferred charitable gift annuity
This gift plan is uniquely suited for the person who wants to make an impact on the archdiocesan level, at a Catholic parish, school or agency, benefit from a current income tax deduction, and receive a lifetime income starting at a time in the future.
When setting up a deferred gift annuity, you choose when you want the lifetime payments to begin. The longer you defer the payments, the larger the income tax deduction and the greater the payout rate. This flexibility allows you to tailor the deferred gift annuity to meet your specific retirement income goals.
Deferred gift annuity
Maggie, age 45, is an entrepreneur. She is putting together plans for her next business venture.
A dedicated supporter of her parish and the Catholic Community Foundation, she could benefit from a current income tax deduction, and is interested in supplementing her future retirement income.
Therefore, the deferred gift annuity is an ideal gift plan to consider. If Maggie makes a gift of $50,000 today and holds off on receiving income until age 65—when she plans to retire—she receives a payment rate of 11.5 percent, and is eligible for a current income tax deduction of $9,423. Beginning at age 65, Maggie will receive annual payments of $5,750 for the rest of her life.
(All examples are for illustrative purposes, and are based on an applicable federal rate of 2.8 percent.)
Other gift plans to consider
Small or large, all gifts are important and their collective impact is always profound. It also is important to remember that many gifts do not require an immediate out-of-pocket transfer. Here are other examples:
• A charitable bequest is a gift included in your will. There are many different types of bequests, and finding an arrangement that meets your charitable goals is both satisfying and easy to do.
Estate gift
Recently, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis received a distribution from an estate in the amount of $21,600. There were no restrictions on the gift. The gift was designated for city-center school children attending Mother Theodore Catholic Academies. This gift will help transform lives by providing underserved students with a high-quality, values-based education, which will lead students of all faiths and economic levels to secondary and post-secondary education.
Estate gifts that are not designated for a specific purpose typically are directed to the Archbishop’s Endowment Fund to be used for archdiocesan priority projects.
• Life insurance policies and retirement accounts require beneficiary designations.
You can specify that the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, a Catholic parish, school or agency receives a percentage of the benefits or is named as a primary beneficiary or contingent beneficiary. Naming a Catholic organization as a beneficiary costs you nothing, and it is a meaningful way to make certain your assets ultimately serve the people and organizations most important to you.
Your investment will preserve our Catholic faith, create a lasting legacy for future generations and, at the same time, provide you and your family with financial and intangible benefits.
As you work to build resources for your family and retirement, there are many gift options available to help you make an impact through philanthropy. Contact Ellen Brunner, director of planned giving, at 800-382-9836, ext. 1427, for more details or assistance in exploring opportunities that meet your goals. †
