Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets

Did you know that nearly half your retirement plan assets can be eaten away by taxes at your death? Learn how to preserve more of your estate for the people and organizations that matter most in your life. 

Like many Americans, you are probably aware that the accumulation of assets in your retirement plan is the basis for a financially secure future. To preserve your retirement assets after your lifetime, consider the benefits of using them in a totally different way.

Retirement accounts are often exposed to income taxes and estate taxes, at a combined marginal rate that could rise to 75 percent or even higher on large, taxable estates. Yet many of these taxes can be avoided or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift.

Other considerations come into play when deciding on using retirement plan assets for charitable giving. Your account can pass directly to a charitable organization as your primary beneficiary, or it can be transferred to a deferred giving arrangement that will pay an income for life to a family member, after which the remaining assets pass to the organization. You might even consider a deferred gift that is designed to pay a life income to yourself.

For information on making a retirement plan gift, contact Kathy Wright (kwright@unitedwaygc.org) at 864.467.3506.

The information on this site is not intended as legal tax or investment advice.          

For such advice, please consult an attorney.