Retirement Accounts and Plans 

Beneficiary Designation

An easy way to make a legacy gift is simply to designate the foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan.

Funds in your retirement plan have never been subject to income-tax. So your heirs will have to pay income-tax on the proceeds. But gifts to charitable organizations are income-tax free. Use retirement funds to make your charitable gifts and use other assets for your heirs.

Administrators of retirement plans use a standard form to change your beneficiary. This is true for an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) plan. Please contact your bank, broker, or plan administrator to obtain the right form.

If you have an employer sponsored retirement plan, please contact your Human Resources Department for the proper form.

With a gift from your retirement plan you can:

• Save taxes
• Maintain control and flexibility
• Create a permanent endowment
• Honor someone with a memorial gift
• Receive naming recognition for your gift
• Support your favorite program or service

IRA Charitable Distribution

If you have an IRA, you may be able to continue supporting the programs that mean the most to you, while avoiding taxes on the annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). The IRS allows you give up to $105,000 annually from your IRA to the charities of your choice and have that gift (called a qualified charitable distribution) also count as your RMD.

This is a way of satisfying the RMD requirement while avoiding taxes on the withdrawal and donating the entire tax-free transfer amount to the programs you have chosen.

Points to consider:

• Changes to tax law mean fewer taxpayers will be able to itemize charitable deductions.
• The tax-free transfer from your IRA must come directly from the IRA custodian to the charity, not to you and then to the charity.
• You must be age 70 1/2 or older before the date of the transfer.
  Other retirement accounts, such as a 401(k), are not eligible (although Roth IRAs may be).
• You will want to start the process well before the end of the year to avoid steep penalties for failing to meet your RMD by December 31.
• Let us know about the donation through your IRA to ensure your gift is acknowledged as an IRA qualified charitable distribution, and to ensure your gift is allocated to your chosen program.
• You can have your account administrator mail a check to: Sutter Health Philanthropy - Attention Gift Processing, P.O. Box 160045, Sacramento, CA 95816.
• To make a wire transfer, please contact a Sutter Health Planned Giving officer from the list below.