IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER

Giving Through Retirement Plans

Designating the Harvard Glee Club Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan is an especially tax-wise way to support the Glee Club. The Foundation receives all or a part of the plan assets in full, undiminished by estate and gift taxes.

Retirement accounts can be the most highly taxed assets many people hold, as they may be subject to both income tax when distributed as well as estate taxes. In a large estate, these taxes can leave less than 30 cents on the dollar of these plans for your children or other heirs.

By naming the Foundation as the beneficiary of your retirement plan, the full amount of your legacy gift is available for a designation that you specify such as the Forbes Fund, Holden Voice Program, or unrestricted funds that provide the Board of Directors with flexible support.

You can designate the Foundation as a beneficiary of part or all the remainder of your IRA or retirement plan.

How it Works

  • Request a beneficiary designation form from your plan’s administrator. Many plans permit you to make the change directly online.

  • Complete the (printed or online) form naming “Harvard Glee Club Foundation, Inc.”

Any individual who is 70 ½ or older can transfer tax-free gifts (maximum $100,000 each year) directly from their IRA to Harvard using the IRA Charitable Rollover.

IRA Charitable Rollover

After several years of short term authorization, the IRA Charitable Rollover was made permanent through the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act in December 2015. For individuals age 70½ or older, the IRA Charitable Rollover is a tax-wise way to support Harvard Glee Club Foundation. If you are required to make annual withdrawals from an IRA account, these otherwise taxable distributions can satisfy your annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and exclude these funds from your taxable income.

Each year, you (and your spouse) can transfer as much as $100,000 to the Foundation.

What are the benefits?

  • Transfer tax-free gifts from your IRA directly to the Foundation

  • Can be applied toward your annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)

  • Beneficial for individuals who do not itemize deductions on their income tax

  • Withdrawals not subject to annual charitable deduction limitations

  • IRA gifts may be used to satisfy multi-year gift pledges

 

To initiate the transfer, contact your IRA administrator. For a sample transfer request form, please click here.