Support & Involvement > How to Give > Planned Giving > Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are becoming more and more popular with donors as a means of making a charitable gift. By designating the Seminary as a full or partial beneficiary of the remaining balance of the retirement account upon the death of the donor, the funds coming to the Seminary will never be subject to taxation. This is because since the funds were not taxed when they were initially placed in the retirement account and the non-taxable status of the Seminary.

Rather than see retirement assets absorbed by taxes to a greater or lesser degree, individuals can direct that such assets be used to fund charitable gifts they would like to make from their estates. This can actually result in more assets being received by their families than if retirement assets were left to family and charitable gifts were made from other funds in the estate.

That is because amounts left from retirement plans for charitable use are included in the taxable estate, but they are completely deductible from the estate as charitable gifts. The full amount will generally be received and used for charitable purposes with no income tax due from the charitable recipient. Other assets that would not be subject to income taxes when received can then be left to family members.