In this issue:
Important Changes in Retirement Plan Rules Will Affect Gift Planning
There are changes afoot in certain tax rules that apply to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and, in one case, all qualified retirement plans. These changes will not only affect the plans themselves, but also aspects of charitable gift planning.
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Past topics...
Quick Tip: Combining a Partial Payment with a First Full Payment for CGAs
It is a common practice to combine a annuitant’s partial payment and first regular payment, especially when a gift annuity is funded close to the end of a payment period. This practice avoids the need to issue a small annuity check shortly after the gift is made.
Planned Giving Manager can compute the amount of this combined payment and calculate how the annuity will be taxed as a result. What's more, we simplified how this is done with the release of PGM 6.2 in June.
After you have entered your inputs for a charitable gift annuity:
- Open the Gift Options window, and click the More button.
- Make sure the answer to “Prorate first payment to reflect partial period” is “Yes.”
- Click “Yes” to “Combine first partial payment with first regular payment.”
- The three date fields that follow relate to the payment period during which the gift was made. Ordinarily, they will match the dates you want, even when combining payments.
Please note! In versions prior to PGM 6.2, these dates needed to be adjusted to combine payments. This is no longer necessary.
Help Clip: Unlocking GiftWrap 3.6 After Being Locked Out
GiftWrap includes a variety of security features that protect the sensitive donor information it stores. For example, when a user enters incorrect login information too many times in a row, or waits too many days between GiftWrap sessions, the user can be locked out of GiftWrap and not allowed back in without intervention by the GiftWrap administrator. GiftWrap Help includes step-by-step instructions on how a GiftWrap administrator unlocks GiftWrap for a user who has been locked out.
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There's Still Time to Enhance Your Fall Gift Annuity Mailing with BatchCalcs
We are very busy right now helping clients enhance their fall gift annuity mailings with personalized calculations supplied by PG Calc’s BatchCalcs service. Thousands of gift annuity donors and prospects will be receiving letters and/or summary charts that tell them the charitable deduction, annuity rate, and annual tax-free amount they can expect if they fund a gift annuity before the end of the year.
There's still time to give your own fall gift annuity mailing extra punch with personalized values from BatchCalcs. All we need is a file containing the birthdates or ages to use in each calculation. You can include target gift amounts, too, if you wish. We can even help with drafting your message and creating merged letters. Please contact Joe Sabella at 888-497-4970 for more information about BatchCalcs.
2009 State Reserve Rates Available for GiftWrap
A message was sent to GiftWrap users on October 14 that included instructions and a download link to update the State Reserve Percentage table in GiftWrap. You can manually update the table by following the instructions in the GiftWrap Help Index under Reserves > State Reserve Percentage. Scroll down to the “To add, view, modify, or delete state reserve percentages manually” section for details.
The Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin maximum reserve valuation interest rates for charitable gift annuities (CGAs) funded in 2009 have been updated. These rates are used to compute charitable gift annuity reserves.
The 2009 maximum rates for FL, MD, NJ, NY, WA, and WI are:
Immediate annuities: 6.00%
Deferred Gift Annuities (DGAs) deferred up to 5 yrs: 6.00%
DGAs deferred more than 5 and up to 10 yrs: 5.75%
DGAs deferred more than 10 and up to 20 yrs: 5.50%
DGAs deferred more than 20 yrs: 4.75%
California, Hawaii, and Oregon made no changes to their rates.
No Special ACGA Rates Expected for NJ and NY for Deferred Annuities Funded in 2009
The state valuation interest rates mentioned in the article above also dictate the maximum deferred annuity rates allowable in New York and New Jersey. Since these rates for 2009 gifts are higher than the 4.25% net interest factor assumed by the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) for determining its suggested maximum deferred annuity rates, we do not expect the ACGA to issue special maximum deferred annuity rates for use in New York and New Jersey in 2009. Absent an increase in ACGA rates, the current standard ACGA deferred annuity rates should continue to qualify in these states through at least August 2010.
PG Calc Partners with CPC and Kallina & Associates, LLC
PG Calc has partnered with CharitablePlanning.com (CPC) and Kallina & Associates, LLC to help you stay current on the latest topics in planned giving with updates on current events and expert commentary, delivered via a customized newsletter and website.
Learn more...
Go Green!
PG Calc is going green! PG Calc clients now have the option to opt-out of our regular print mailings. If you would like to receive future issues of the PG Calc-U-Letter, our quarterly print newsletter, electronically rather than by postal mail, please click the link next to "Go Green!" below.
If you "go green," the newsletter will be sent to you in PDF format going forward. Planned Giving Manager (PGM) clients that "go green" also will no longer receive our monthly IRS Discount Rate postcard by postal mail. The coming month's rate is always provided at the top of our eRate Monthly electronic newsletter (see above) and on our website.
Go Green!...
Webinar: Key Elements of Outstanding Planned Gift Administration
Your best planned gift prospects are your current planned gift donors. It is absolutely essential that you provide them with first rate stewardship, including flawless administration of their gifts. Drawing on PG Calc's vast experience administering the planned gifts of hundreds of charities, this Webinar will offer practical advice on how to handle all aspects of planned gift administration, from processing payments to complying with state and federal regulations.
Date: October 29, 2009
Time: 1:00 pm Eastern
Presenters: Dyke Tilt and Jeffrey Frye
Register
Upcoming Group Training Sessions - November 2-3 Chicago, IL
We are offering both of our Introductory and Advanced Planned Giving Manager training sessions in Chicago in November. Our sessions provide a solid foundation for individuals who are new to planned giving. These classes may also serve to reinforce the skills and knowledge of experienced gift planners.
November 2-3
Gift Planning with Planned Giving Manager
Introductory and Advanced
Avenue Hotel Chicago, Chicago, IL
For more information or to register
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