Category: Your Legacy Matters

What will you do with unspent retirement savings?

If you are like most people, you will designate family members as beneficiaries of your retirement accounts. The reality is much of your savings will never go to your loved ones. Your retirement assets actually make a better gift to charity.

How to provide for your loved ones and avoid unnecessary taxes.

Here’s what ends up happening: the designated family member will have to pay a tax on the retirement account that was left to them, reducing the amount of money they end up receiving. The better solution is to give your family the assets that step-up in basis at death such as stock and real estate.

Unlike your retirement assets, these assets may be received and sold by your family without paying any tax. Your retirement assets can make a better gift to charity. This is because a charitable organization like Family Life Radio can receive the entire asset tax-free and make use of it to further our mission of reaching people intentionally for Christ.

Next steps

If you’re planning to take money out of your retirement soon, know that you may have to pay taxes on that income, or the government may force you to take out more than you need. But you’re not in this alone! The Family Life Radio Estate Planning Team is here to help! Let us show you how to avoid paying taxes on your retirement income and how your support can provide hope to others through the ministry of Family Life Radio.

Free resources! Fill out the form below to receive our Gift of Retirement Assets Brochure. It will explain what to do with unspent retirement savings and more!

Contact the Family Life Radio Estate Planning Team today!
Phone: (800) 776-1070
Email: planning@flc.org

Learn more about estate planning and get more free resources here

Ministry friend, Sue Dolfuss, recently shared why giving to Family Life Radio has been so important to her. “About 16 years ago my husband passed away, and I would lay awake at night not able to sleep. I’d turn the radio on at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning and listen to Family Life Radio. It was just wonderful to hear the beautiful music and preaching, and it lifted me up.”

When Sue turned 70 and a half years old, she considered her retirement plans, and her financial advisor had some shocking news. He explained that “the IRS requires that you take a minimum distribution from your IRA or 401K every year at my age. So he told me I had three options. I could put it in a money market account, but if I did that, I would have to pay taxes on it. Or I could gift it to a family member. The third option would be to give it to a charitable organization and not have increased income for the tax year.”

Sue thought and prayed about it before making her decision. “I gave some to my church. I gave some to another charity, and the rest I gave to Family Life Radio. This was the first time I’d ever been able to give a big chunk of money to an organization that I believe in. I appreciate Christian radio so much, and it made me feel so good that I could use this money that way.”

You can do this too. Just talk to the asset manager for your IRA, and ask for a direct transfer of your required minimum distribution. Tell them how much you want to go to your church and your favorite charity. You might be surprised what a difference your IRA can make.

For more information visit http://flrplan.org/.