The Charitable Gift Annuity – Helping St. Mark’s While Helping Yourself

Would you like to be able to do more to help us educate young people for lives of leadership and service? There are creative opportunities to meld some of your financial planning concerns with your contribution to St. Mark's. The Charitable Gift Annuity is an arrangement that can allow you to receive a lifetime stream of payments in exchange for your contribution today.

Charitable Gift Annuity

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple agreement between you and St. Mark's promising to pay a certain dollar amount to you (or someone you choose) for life in exchange for your contribution. Your lifetime payments are guaranteed by the financial resources of St. Mark's.

The amount you receive from your Charitable Gift Annuity will depend upon your age at the time of your contribution. The amount will not change for the rest of your lifetime. Rates for Charitable Gift Annuities have recently increased. For example, if you are age 75 when you make your contribution, we could offer to pay you 6.6% of your contribution each year for the rest of your lifetime.

In addition to a secure source of payments for life, there are significant tax advantages for you. In most cases, a significant portion of each payment to you is tax free. If you contribute appreciated securities you can avoid a portion of the capital gains tax that would be due if your sold them. And, you receive an income tax deduction now for the charitable value of your contribution.

A Lifetime of Payments from your IRA

A new law allows donors to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution from their IRA account to St. Mark's in exchange for a Charitable Gift Annuity and receive a lifetime of payments as a result.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution is a contribution you can make from your IRA to St. Mark's. Unlike regular distributions from your retirement account, there is no income tax on a Qualified Charitable Distribution. You must be 70½ or older to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution. If you no longer itemize your deductions, a Qualified Charitable Distribution provides tax benefits similar to a deductible charitable gift because there is no tax on the withdrawal from your IRA.

The new law allows you to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution in exchange for a Charitable Gift Annuity. As a result, you can make a tax-free rollover from your IRA and receive a lifetime of fixed payments in return. There are some rules and limitations: you can do this only once in your lifetime, there is a limit of $50,000, and the entire payment you receive from your Charitable Gift Annuity will be subject to income tax.

Please contact Stephanie Katz, Director of Major Gifts, at stephaniekatz@stmarksschool.org of 508-786-6128 for more information. We would be happy to work with you and your advisors to help determine how your charitable gift can benefit St. Mark's … and you too.