A gift to the Lord, a tax deduction now, and income in retirement

If you are 45 or older and would like to make a gift towards the Lord’s work that provides income during retirement—and a charitable deduction now (while income is higher), consider a deferred gift annuity. A deferred gift annuity allows you to make a gift in exchange for fixed quarterly payments starting at a future date and continuing until you go to heaven. Pictured is how this would work for someone who is 55 with payments beginning in 10 years.

(Transferring appreciated assets, e.g. stocks, may be an even more beneficial way to fund your deferred gift annuity since it may allow you to avoid capital gains taxes now and pay them in a more favorable way later.)

Rev. John Beck and his wife Cindy have found the deferred gift annuity to be a convenient and beneficial way to make a planned gift to the Lord. Pastor Beck says:

Some years ago, I recall a WELS Christian giving counselor commenting that Christians who have given offerings all their life may want to make one last planned offering in their death. That made sense to me; the question was how to make that happen. By the grace of God a very generous and supportive congregation enabled us to buy a home near the bottom of a housing market that began to swing sharply upward after we bought. After some medical setbacks and early retirement we needed to sell our home but realized a significant financial gain that would allow us to plan that final offering. Still, looking ahead, we knew that we would need to supplement our income stream. That’s where the deferred charitable gift annuity comes in. With this vehicle, there will be a nice future gift for the Lord’s work, and we will receive lifetime payments. It is a win-win situation that I would encourage everyone to explore.

A WELS Christian giving counselor can discuss with you the details of how this type of gift would work in your personal situation.