Here is a tax-smart way to make an impact to Trinity College using your qualified retirement plan. The IRA charitable rollover (also called the Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD) is a great way to make a tax-free gift to Trinity College and satisfy your required minimum distribution.
A gift of retirement plan assets could be right for you if:
- You have an IRA or qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b).
- You do not expect to use all of your retirement plan assets during your lifetime.
- You have other assets, such as securities and real estate, that you want to pass to heirs.
- You may want to provide payments to loved ones after you are gone.
- You would like to make a bequest gift to Trinity.
Option 1: Make a tax-free gift today with an IRA charitable rollover
You can make a tax-free gift with a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA. (Other Qualified Retirement Plans such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s are not eligible). You must be at least 70½ years old to take advantage of this opportunity. Your QCD must go directly from your IRA administrator to Trinity. The total of all of your QCD gifts for 2024 cannot exceed $105,000 per person however, your spouse with a separate IRA can also make a QCD of up to $105,000 in 2024 if they otherwise qualify.
The benefits of a QCD gift include:
- If you don’t itemize and are not yet required to take your RMD, a QCD offers all of the benefits of an itemized income tax charitable deduction.
- If you are age 73 and must take your RMD, a QCD can satisfy your RMD without increasing your income taxes.
- Your gift supports the important work of Trinity with a tax-free gift.
Details for Giving through the IRA Rollover
By CHECK
Instruct your IRA administrator to mail a check, payable to Trustees of Trinity College, directly to Director of Gift Planning, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106-3100. The College’s Tax-Exempt ID number is 06-0646927.
Please make sure that your administrator includes the following information in the memo line of the check, or in an accompanying letter: your name; the designation of your gift (e.g. Alumni Fund); and a notation that this constitutes a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA. Click here to receive a sample letter to send your IRA administrator.
By CASH WIRE
Prior to making a gift by cash wire transfer, to ensure proper credit and handling, please notify the Advancement Office by calling (860) 297-2134.
Account information to wire cash:
CITIZENS BANK
Trinity Account #: 2233941467
ABA#: 011500120
Account Name: Trustees of Trinity College Contact: Wire Department – 877-471-1961 (8:30 – 5:30 EST)
Option 2: Designate remaining retirement plan assets for Trinity College.
Another attractive option is to designate Trinity as the recipient of some or all of what’s left in your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other qualified plan when they end.
In addition to having the satisfaction of making a significant gift to Trinity, your benefits include:
- Your estate is entitled to an unlimited estate tax charitable deduction for the value of your IRA donated to Trinity if your estate exceeds the applicable exemption.
- The QCD is an income tax smart gift. The SECURE Act enacted in 2020 limits prohibits stretching out distributions from an inherited IRA over the life of heirs.
- Since Trinity is tax-exempt, a gift to Trinity from your IRA is not subject to income taxes.
- Preservation of non-retirement plan assets for family.
Option 3: Designate remaining retirement plan assets for a life income plan.
Alternatively, you can designate that some or all of the assets remaining when your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other qualified plan ends be used to fund a charitable remainder trust or gift annuity arrangement that will make payments to family members or other loved ones for the rest of their lives. When the gift arrangement ends, what is left will go to Trinity.
In addition to having the satisfaction of making a significant gift to Trinity, your benefits include:
- A charitable trust or annuity can provide lifetime income for life since that is no longer possible after adoption of the SECURE Act. That law prohibits stretching out distributions from an inherited IRA over the life of heirs.
- The gift portion of your charitable trust or annuity provides an unlimited estate tax charitable deduction if your estate is subject to estate taxes.
- Such a plan preserves non-retirement plan assets for family.