One of the easiest ways to make a legacy gift to Taft School is a “beneficiary designation” for your financial account or other asset. It can be as simple as checking a box on a form directing that the remainder of your account be given to Taft School at the end of your lifetime. You can direct the entire account to Taft School or just a portion with the rest going to your family or heirs.

There are several benefits of making your legacy gift to Taft School with a beneficiary designation:

• Control: You retain control of your accounts. If your circumstances change, you can revoke your beneficiary designation.
• Easy: There’s no need to wait until you write or change your will.
• Tax-smart: Your beneficiary designation to Taft School is not subject to income or estate tax.
• Family-friendly: You can ensure that your family or others receive as much as they need and leave the remaining portion to Taft School.

Accounts and other assets you may consider designating for Taft School include:

Bank account: You can instruct your bank to pay to Taft School all or a portion of what remains in your checking or savings account at the end of your lifetime. Your bank can provide you with the appropriate forms.

Investment account: You can instruct your investment broker to transfer to Taft School some or all of the investments remaining in your account at the end of your lifetime. The process can be as simple as adding specific wording after your name on the account.

Retirement accounts: These include IRAs and most other “Qualified Retirement Plans” such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Your plan administrator can provide you with a beneficiary designation form to designate Taft School to receive either a percentage of your retirement account or specific dollar amount at the end of your lifetime.

Note: From a tax standpoint, a contribution of assets remaining in your retirement account is an excellent choice. Retirement accounts that you leave to someone else can trigger very high taxes because most distributions from a retirement account are subject to income taxes and possibly estate taxes too. However, you completely avoid these taxes when you leave your retirement account to Taft School.

Life insurance policies: Your insurance company can provide a simple form that allows you to designate Taft School to receive all or a portion of the death benefit from your life insurance policy.

Annuity contracts: If you have an annuity contract that has a remainder value, you can name Taft School to receive all or part of this amount using a form provided by the annuity company.

Thank you for considering a legacy gift to Taft School. We are very grateful for your generous support of our work and would be happy to provide further information and collaborate with you and your advisors to complete a beneficiary designation gift.

To learn more about planned giving and explore the options that best suit your goals, please contact Richard J. Galiette, Director of Major & Planned giving at rgaliette@taftschool.org or 860-945-7747."