A beneficiary designation gift is a quick and affordable way to support the work of Gospel for Asia. Simply contact the administrator of your retirement plan, investment or bank account or your life insurance policy to complete and sign their beneficiary form.
If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement plans, and continue to freely use your bank and investment accounts. You can also change your mind at any time in the future for any reason.
Of the assets listed above, retirement assets may be the most cost-effective assets to donate to charity. Retirement assets left to heirs other than your spouse could be heavily taxed, leaving only a portion of their value to those you love. If you plan to include charitable gifts in your estate plan, consider naming GFA as the beneficiary of your retirement assets while leaving cash and other investment assets to your heirs. Why? Charities are tax exempt and, unlike your heirs, are not required to pay taxes on IRAs and other pre-tax retirement plans. You may want to leave your heirs assets like your home or stocks that can step up in basis to fair market value when you pass away. This permits your heirs to sell these assets with little or no tax due and make use of their full inheritance. Providing more funding for heirs and the Lord's work, along with less taxes for heirs could be considered wise stewardship.
If you have any questions about leaving a beneficiary designation gift to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.
If you have already designated us as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to thank you.
FlexibilityMost beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name Gospel for Asia as a "full" or "partial" beneficiary of your plan, account or life insurance policy. You can also name GFA as a "primary" or "contingent" beneficiary.
Family ConsiderationsBeneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the causes that matter most to you. With a designation form you could, for example, name your spouse as the "primary" beneficiary and each of your children and Gospel for Asia as "partial contingent" beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she would receive the account. If not, the account or policy would be paid out to your children and Gospel for Asia in whatever shares (or percentages) that you chose on the designation form.
TerminologyBeneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. Common terminology includes "beneficiary designation" but also includes "payable on death" or "transfer on death." The term "beneficiary designation" is most commonly used when naming beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term payable on death ("POD") typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account or certificates of deposit, and transfer on death ("TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about Beneficiary Designation gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about TOD gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about POD gifts, click here.
Beneficiary Designations and Real EstateSome states even allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which would allow you to name Gospel for Asia as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or new beneficiary designation deed.