Most people have had the opportunity to establish retirement plans to provide an income for themselves and a surviving loved one during retirement years.

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There are many different types of retirement plans.

• IRA plans

• 401K plans

• Keogh plans

• Qualified pension and profit sharing plans

• Tax sheltered annuities

• Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans

 

A beneficiary designation change to remember the Lord’s work

Retirement instruments are poorly designed for efficient transfer at death.  Federal income, state income, and federal estate tax liabilities can greatly reduce the dollars inherited by your family.

By making a simple beneficiary designation change naming an area of the Lord’s work as the recipient on your IRA, 401K, or other qualified retirement plan, the taxes due at death may be reduced or even eliminated.  To help replace the dollars given to a charity by beneficiary designation, a life insurance policy can be purchased.  This can provide your heirs with inheritance in an efficient, tax wise manner.

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Qualified charitable distribution from an IRA

If you’re 70.5 or older, you can make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from your IRA to GPLHS without counting the distributions as income for federal tax purposes.  Here’s what a WELS member said, “The process is very smooth. One check sent directly to GPLHS from my IRA holder counts as part of the required minimum distribution, but no taxes are paid on the transfer.  The QCD also allows me to maximize the donation and use the standard deduction on my tax return.”