Individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k) plans, Keogh plans, and other retirement-plan funds are subject to estate and income taxes for your heirs. In many cases the taxes can reduce the value of retirement savings by 50 percent or more. Careful planning can minimize or even eliminate the taxes due on retirement-plan assets during life and at death.
You may find it most tax-efficient to name the National Geographic Society as the beneficiary for all or part of your retirement account, leaving other less heavily taxed assets to heirs. Retirement-plan assets are distributed outside of probate and are entirely free from U.S. federal estate and income tax when the National Geographic Society is named as the beneficiary.
Benefits
- Naming the Society as the primary beneficiary lets your heirs avoid income and estate taxes.
- You may receive partial tax savings when you give the Society a specific amount before giving the remainder to family.
- Naming the Society the contingent beneficiary allows for greater flexibility when other beneficiaries predecease you.
- Donating retirement-plan assets could be the most cost-effective gift you can make.
To implement your wishes, simply advise the plan administrator of your decision and sign the required form(s). For an IRA or Keogh plan you administer personally, notify the custodian in writing and keep a copy with your valuable papers. Here's how you might list us on your retirement plan beneficiary form: "National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036,
Tax ID # 53-0193519."
The information on our Web site is not intended as financial or legal advice. Please consult your own qualified advisers as you consider philanthropic gifts.
