Planned Giving Insights and Information

Don’t Overlook HSA Beneficiary Designations

A little over a year ago, my wife and I elected to have our family’s health insurance be provided by her employer through a “high deductible health plan,” as defined in Section 223(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. That plan, in turn, is paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA is usually funded with pre-tax dollars, just as is the case with a traditional IRA or qualified retirement plan. With respect to my wife’s HSA, this applies to whatever she contributes, as well as to whatever her employer contributes. Individuals other than my wife can also contribute, just not in a tax-favored manner. Whatever is contributed, along with anything it may earn, avoids taxation so long as it either remains in the account or is used to pay certain “qualified medical expenses” as defined by law.

Charitable Gift Annuities for Domestic Help

When we think of income beneficiaries for charitable gift annuities, most of us picture a donor or a donor and his or her spouse, and these are indeed the most common cases. Yet the donor can name anyone who meets the issuing organization’s minimum age requirement as the income beneficiary. Gift annuities can offer an opportunity for kind-hearted individuals to care for others who need additional cash flow by providing a secure source of payments.

PG Calc Insights: IRS Releases Latest Statistics on Planned Gifts

The IRS recently published its latest statistics on split interest trusts - charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), charitable lead trusts (CLTs), and pooled income funds (PIFs). The statistics are based on the information reported on Form 5227s filed during calendar year 2011, so they largely reflect 2010 activity. The IRS also has released a paper that analyzes these statistics and provides substantial additional detail about these gift plans. You can see the statistics and the papers for yourself by going to the IRS site. The rest of this post highlights some of the very interesting information I have gleaned from there.

Managing Planned Giving Staff

Whether an individual contributor or a person with a staff, you have likely played a manager role on a team. Many organizations operate in a matrix management style - in which a group of professionals with similar skills often belong to one team, but work with several different project managers to complete structured projects and programs. Still, the transition to management can be tough in any line of work. This post explores both some of the general rules for “people managers” and the more specific rules of engagement in managing planned giving professionals.