The
SOCH Foundation Charitable Gift Annuity Program
by Timothy G. Dolan, CPA
Tim Dolan is a partner in the accounting firm of Dolan, Mauthe & Marsella,
CPA’s, a Trustee of the SOCH Foundation and a volunteer member
of the SOCH Foundation Planned Giving Committee.
The SOCH Foundation’s Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) Program is an increasingly popular way to make a significant and meaningful gift to the Hospital while providing income for you and your spouse’s lifetime.
With a Charitable Gift Annuity, there is no need to establish a Trust, and therefore, no annual Trust reports. Instead, your gift is directly made to the charitable organization, and the charitable organization provides the annuity to you. Not all charitable organizations offer these arrangements, however SOCH offers this program.
A CGA allows you to support the Hospital, while receiving income for life, saving on your taxes by way of Charitable Contribution Deduction, and avoiding some capital gains if donating appreciating property.
A CGA is an agreement between the donor and the SOCH Foundation. Donors transfer assets, and receive fixed payments for the rest of their lives. Since part of the donor’s transfer will be retained by the charity. You receive a current contribution deduction on your income tax equal to the amount your contribution exceeds the fair market value of the annuity you receive.
The amount of each donor’s annuity payment depends on his or her age, and the amount of the gift. Fixed annuity payments do not fluctuate with economic or market conditions. They will stay the same for the donor’s life and are calculated at the time of the gift, and are based on his or her life expectancy. The payments are generally higher for older donors, and are based upon widely available national actuarial standards. They are also guaranteed, even if you outlive your life expectancy.
Your CGA can be funded with cash, stocks, bonds, or other securities. If you gift appreciated securities, you may also avoid a portion of the capital gain tax you would otherwise incur upon the sale of these securities. Another potential benefit may come through gifting low-yielding assets. The benefit received through the CGA could out-perform the current income received from these low-yielding investments and still generate a current tax deduction.
We recommend that you consult your personal tax and financial advisors prior to making any tax or investment decisions.
To learn more about the SOCH Foundation’s Charitable Gift Annuity Program, the potential advantages of charitable estate planning, and special donor recognition available through The Knight Society, please contact Executive Director Chris Rollins, CFRE, at (609) 978-3081 or click here to contact us.
