PG Calc Blog

New Jersey Is Inflexible on Flexible Gift Annuities

New Jersey is requiring actuarial verification of state reserve reports as part of a charity’s gift annuity annual reporting if the charity offers flexible gift annuities (FGAs). If your charity has a pending application, you will need to add an actuarial verification of your New Jersey reserve calculations if you offer FGAs. Charities that are already registered in New Jersey will need actuarial verification of their state reserve report as part of their annual filings if they offer FGAs.

Pledge to Make a QCD

When the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) was first introduced in 2006, the timing for colleges and universities that push for 50th reunion gifts could not have been better. The new outright gift was available to donors who were age 70 ½ or older, which cleanly aligned with the age of many 50th reunion alumni. In 2006, a donor who was age 70 ½ or older was also faced with making a taxable required minimum distribution (RMD) from their IRA. The QCD outright gift provided relief by allowing a tax-free withdrawal. While there was no charitable deduction, donors benefitted by avoiding ordinary income tax on the portion of their RMD fulfilled by their QCD and receiving reunion credit for their gift. Over time, the age at which a donor could make a QCD gift diverged from the age at which they must begin taking withdrawals from their IRA. In 2025, a donor can make a QCD at age 70 ½ or older, but they are not required to take an RMD until age...

I Made My QCD CGA, Can I Have a QLAC Now?

Some early adopters of the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) charitable gift annuity have begun to turn their attention to another opportunity to reduce their required minimum distribution: the qualified longevity annuity contract (QLAC). If, like several clients we have heard from, your organization is receiving calls from donors asking if they “can do a QLAC” with your organization, here’s a primer on this vehicle, how it can be used to reduce required minimum distributions from an IRA, why a donor might confuse it with a deferred gift annuity, and some advice on how to redirect a donor’s interest towards a flexible gift annuity.

Medaling Mortality Tables: Gold, Silver and Bronze Choices for FASB

If you’re a charity following the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recommendations for calculating the liability of your split interest agreements, you have an important choice to make at the end of each fiscal year: which mortality table to use to calculate your liabilities. While you might hope that your auditor will make a recommendation, the choice of a mortality table lands squarely in the charity’s purview. For charities looking for an opinion on which mortality table to choose, we’re happy to offer a ranking of our preferred mortality tables from bronze to gold. Why the Mortality Table Matters The liability amount is designed to be a good faith estimate of a charity’s obligation to make payments to all gift income beneficiaries for the balance of each individual gift’s term, whether that term is for measuring lives, a term of years, or a combination of the two. Underestimating life spans will deflate a charity’s liability calculation, which can lead to real world...