Making a gift to a ministry of the church with retirement plan assets or IRAs is a confidence builder. You can be certain you selected the best asset to use and that the ministry you have chosen is strengthened by your decision.

IT JUST MAKES SENSE

A gift that uses the most highly taxed asset makes good sense. When leaving a retirement plan to heirs, taxes can frustrate your goals and diminish what you intend for your heirs to receive. Several different layers of taxes can reduce what your heirs receive. By leaving highly taxed assets to a ministry or ministries of the church you can avoid the taxes, increase your gift, and leave other, more tax favored gifts, to your heirs.

HOW ARE RETIREMENT FUNDS TAXED?

q       Estate Tax

q       Federal Income Tax

q       State Income Tax (if applicable)

q       Possible Generation Skipping Tax

Your retirement funds, directed to heirs are subject to these taxes, ministries of the church are not.

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION ESSENTIAL

Be aware that a retirement plan gift can be made only by beneficiary designation form from the firm administering your retirement account. The contents of that form and not your WILL govern the distribution of fund assets. By designating the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as your beneficiary, and with prior agreement, the ELCA can make distributions to ministries of your choice. Contact us for details: www.plan2giv.org.

PLAN WITH CARE

While it is easy to make a gift using a qualified retirement plan, you are encouraged to consult your legal and tax advisors to insure that your gift does not have unintended effects on other parts of your estate plan.

LIFETIME GIFTS? THINK AGAIN

Currently, there is no tax advantage to using retirement plan assets for gifts during your lifetime and there could be some tax disadvantages. Using such assets for lifetime gifts should be considered only if the tax benefits of a gift are unimportant. Care should be taken to insure there are no tax disadvantages. Consult your legal and tax advisors.

LET US KNOW ABOUT YOUR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

When you designate a ministry of the church as benefiary of your IRA or retirement plan, you are encouraged to notify the Office for Planned Giving, so that your gift can be acknowledged and recognized. A gift planning officer can help you choose how you would like to see your gift used by the ministry or ministries  you have chosen. Every gift, regardless of size, is needed and genuinely appreciated.