The faithful steward

A Planned Giving Newsletter sponsored by St. Benedict High School

It's Now Easier to Make Your Gift through Your IRA The IRA Charitable Rollover was extended through December 31, 2013 as a provision of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The IRA Charitable Rollover allows individuals age 70½ and older to make direct transfers totaling up to $100,000 per year to 501(c)(3) organizations, without having to count the transfers as income for federal income tax purposes.

 Who qualifies? Individuals who are age 70½ or older at the time of the contribution (you have to wait until your actual 70½th birthdate to make the transfer).  How much can I transfer? $100,000 per year.  From what accounts can I make transfers? Transfers must come from your IRAs directly to St. Benedict High School. If you have retirement assets in a 401(k), 403(b) etc., you must first roll those funds into an IRA, and then you can direct the IRA provider to transfer the funds from the IRA directly to St. Benedict High School.  Can I use the rollover to fund lifeincome gifts (charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, or pooled income funds), donor advised funds or supporting organizations? No, these are not eligible.  How will St. Benedict High School count the gift? We will give you full credit for the entire gift amount.  What are the tax implications to me? o Federal — You do not recognize the transfer to St. Benedict High School as income, provided it goes directly from the IRA provider to us.

However, you are not entitled to an income tax charitable deduction for your gift. o State — Each state has different laws, so you will need to consult with your own advisors. Some states have a state income tax and will include this transfer as income.

Within those states, some will allow for a state income tax charitable deduction and others will not. Other

states base their state income tax on the federal income or federal tax paid. Still other states have no income tax at all.  Does this transfer qualify as my minimum required distribution?

Once you reach age 70½, you are required to take minimum distributions from your retirement plans each year, according to a federal formula. IRA charitable rollovers count towards your minimum required distributions for the year.  How do I know if an IRA charitable rollover is right for me? If you are at least age 70½ and o You do not need the additional income necessitated by the minimum required distribution, OR o Your charitable gifts already equal 50% of your adjusted gross income, so you do not benefit from an income tax charitable deduction for additional gifts, OR o You do not itemize deductions, OR o You are subject to income tax deduction and exemption phase outs  What is the procedure to execute an IRA charitable rollover? To complete an IRA charitable rollover, the first step is to contact your IRA provider to learn their procedures. We also offer a sample letter (see below) you can send to your IRA provider to initiate a rollover.

Would You Consider a Gift to Our Endowment Your gift can become a legacy for the future of St. Benedict Preparatory High School when it is added to our new endowment. The return on your investment is perpetual and will help us steward this unique gift of Preschool thru Grade 12 coed Catholic education that benefits so many families across Chicagoland.

How will your gift help?

We currently award over $365,000 in tuition assistance to help hard-working Catholic families afford a St. Benedict High School education. Your gift will grow our endowment, which in turn, will provide interest income to help ocover the cost of this tuition assistance. Our ultimate goal is to grow the endowment so that it generates enough interest income to cover the full cost of tuition assistance on an annual basis. Funding the endowment over the years will ensure that a St. Benedict education is affordable for such deserving students as the SBHS Class of 2013, "the million dollar class", who earned over $1.12 million in merit based scholarships for college.

Endowment Scholarship Quick Facts: ďƒź Each of the endowment scholarships are named for key individuals who have contributed significantly to the life and growth of St. Benedict Preparatory High School (see left) ďƒź Each scholarship is awarded is awarded for an academic talent or Christian virtue that exemplifies our unique program.

Sample Letter of Instruction to Plan Provider for a 2013 Gift to St. Benedict High School [DATE] [NAME OF PLAN PROVIDER] [ADDRESS] [CITY, STATE, ZIP] Re:

Request for Direct Charitable Distribution from Individual Retirement Account

Dear Sir or Madam: Please accept this letter as my request to make a direct charitable contribution from my Individual Retirement Account Number: [insert account number] as provided by American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and Sec. 408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Please issue a check in the amount of $____________ payable to St. Benedict High School at the following address: St. Benedict High School, 3900 N. Leavitt St., Chicago, IL 60618 In your transmittal to the charity, please state my name and address as the donor of record in connection with this transfer, and copy me on your transmittal. It is my intention to have this transfer qualify during the 2013 tax year. Therefore, it is imperative that this distribution be postmarked no later than December 31, 2013.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this request, I can be reached at [PHONE AND EMAIL ADDRESSES].

Thank you for your prompt attention to and assistance with this matter.

Sincerely yours, [YOUR NAME]

A Bequest to St. Benedict: Sometimes Simple is Best There are creative ways to give to your high school through “planned giving.” Most of the gift plans offer attractive tax benefits. Often a planned gift matures at the end of one’s life and involves estate planning. We have descriptions of alumni who used charitable trusts and the like. These gifts are satisfying to put in place because of how they can use the tax code to make our giving more effective for our school and ourselves.

The charitable bequest is the simplest of planned gifts. It involves adding a clause to our will or trust that says something like “I give 5% of the residue of my estate to St. Benedict High School.” It’s that easy – simple, straightforward and capable of touching lives for generations to come.

High schools, like neighborhoods go through ups and downs. Your bequest might provide the funds to help St. Benedict High School through an unforeseen lean time.

More than one pastor tells a story of the letter from a lawyer notifying him of a charitable bequest that arrived as he was fretting over how to pay for a major repair that the school desperately needed. We have seen schools use bequest funds to enhance academic programs and youth outreach, so our faith might be passed down to succeeding generations.

One suburban parish used a bequest to

re-open the parish school that had closed years earlier. There is no limit to the good your gift might do.

Many alumni want to make a bequest but find the idea of amending their will or trust expensive and irksome. There is an easy alternative for our alumni – the beneficiary designation. Making St. Benedict High School the payable-on-death beneficiary of a bank account, IRA or other retirement plan, mutual fund or other financial account provides the same benefit to our school as a bequest in a will or trust – a wonderful gift that will mature at the end of life. To accomplish your charitable beneficiary designation, you only have to call the company that administers the account you wish to donate and ask for the form to designate a payable-on-death beneficiary. When the form arrives, fill it out and send it back and you’re done. No lawyer bills, no fuss and a wonderful gift that will touch countless lives through the good work of St. Benedict High School.

We are deeply grateful to those who consider giving to St. Benedict High School in this way. And we are always available to help or answer questions. Please do not hesitate to call Janis Lutkus in the Department of Stewardship and Development at (312) 534-7614. .

INTEREST? Interested in seeing how a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Archdiocese of Chicago would work for you?

Please call the Office of Planned Giving at (312) 534-7614 for a no obligation Charitable Gift Annuity proposal.

The Benefits of a Gift Annuity include:  A guaranteed income for the lives of one or two people.  A generous income tax deduction.  Tax-free income  Providing for the future of your parish, parish school or the Archdiocese.

To receive a confidential proposal, please call the Office of Planned Giving at (312) 534-7614

Gift Annuities Come In All Sizes Gift annuities are not just for wealthy philanthropists. Our gift annuitants come from all over and from many backgrounds. Consider the following example of two Chicago Catholics who have gift annuities with the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Maria created one gift annuity in 1995 with $25,000 that will benefit her northside parish. In fact, Maria was our first gift annuitant. Peter dipped his toe in the water in 1999 with $30,000 gift annuity. Through the years, Peter has donated over $2,000,000 toward twelve gift annuities with the Archdiocese of Chicago. The amounts they have donated toward gift annuities differ widely.

They have much in common, however.

Their estate plans and financial strategies go that extra mile to integrate their deeply held beliefs.

Peter and Maria have made their parishes their gift annuity beneficiary (in Peter’s case, he has designated his parish to benefit from his gift annuities as well as the Archdiocese, Chicago’s seminaries, and other Catholic organizations as well). Peter and Maria’s faith has shaped their

financial plans in the same way it has shaped their lives. Through the ripple effect of their generosity, God will touch people they will never meet, drawing them closer to Him and changing lives.

On the more tangible side, both Peter and Maria have secured significant streams of income in return for their generosity. They receive payments every year that will not go up or down, sparing them some of the vagaries of the stock market. They also enjoyed sizable income tax charitable deductions when they made their donations.

Neither of them was motivated by the gift annuity’s income or tax advantages, however. What moved Peter and Maria to share what God has given them was the desire to help others. Both Peter and Maria consider their faith a precious gift.

St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel always and, if necessary, use words.” Through their generous choices, Peter and Maria wordlessly share the Gospel with those who will come after them in the faith.

312/655-7848.