Make the Most of Your
Retirement Plan Assets
Avoid Taxation and Support Our Work
Did you know that retirement accounts are exposed to federal income taxes that could be as much as 37 percent upon your death? The good news is that these taxes can be eliminated or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift.
Consider leaving your loved ones less heavily taxed assets and leaving your retirement plan assets to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support our work. As a nonprofit organization, we are tax-exempt and will receive the full amount of what you designate to us from your plan. You can take advantage of this gift opportunity in several ways, illustrated on the following pages.
3 Ways to Donate Your Retirement Account
List the National Trust as a beneficiary of your account.
The simplest way to leave the balance of a retirement account to the National Trust for Historic Preservation after your lifetime is to list the National Trust as the beneficiary on the form provided by your plan administrator. If you are married, your spouse must sign a written waiver.
Make the National Trust a contingent beneficiary.
If you prefer to make your spouse the primary beneficiary of your retirement account, you can name the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the contingent beneficiary. Want your children to benefit, too? Designate a specific amount for the National Trust with the remainder for your children.
Give from your IRA.
If you are at least 72 years old and haven’t yet met your minimum required distribution for the year, your IRA gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement. (Note: The RMD requirement has been waived for 2020, per the CARES Act signed into law on March 27, 2020.) You can give any amount up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation without having to pay income taxes on the money.
Example: Tax-Smart Planning
A longtime donor with a $1.5 million estate wants to leave the National Trust for Historic Preservation a gift valued at $750,000. They also want to leave something to their only daughter who is in the 32 percent federal income tax bracket. Take a look at the options.
Option 1: Our donor divides assets equally between the daughter and the National Trust.
| Daughter | Us | |
|---|---|---|
| IRA | $375,000 | $375,000 |
| Other assets (house, securities, cash) | $375,000 | $375,000 |
| Federal income tax owed | ($120,000) | ($0) |
| Net amount to beneficiary after taxes | $630,000 | $750,000 |
Option 2: Our donor names the National Trust the beneficiary of retirement plan assets and leaves the daughter all other assets.
| Daughter | Us | |
|---|---|---|
| IRA | $0 | $750,000 |
| Other assets (house, securities, cash) | $750,000 | $0 |
| Federal income tax owed | ($0) | ($0) |
| Net amount to beneficiary after taxes | $750,000 | $750,000 |