THE CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY

Probably this question has never been presented to you, and it may not be appropriate for you to consider.

However, if you will recall, your check from social security works like a pension check - it stops on death.   The exception, of course, is that your spouse will continue to receive a check until death, at which time the check stops.  If you are a single retiree, and you pass on, there is no further benefit payable.

For example, a single man who tries to decide whether to take a check at the age of 62 must recognize that failure to do so will mean that there will be NO VALUE to all the taxes he paid in over the years.  It will be totally lost to his estate.

As we said, it works differently  for a married couple, as the income lasts until the surviving spouse passes.

Many advisors point out that the longer you defer starting your social security check, the large will be the ultimate monthly benefit you receive.  While there is no doubt that this is true, the real question is whether that is the best alternative.

Consider this:   You can use the monthly income (or a portion of it), to set up a benefit account with an insurance company.  A 62 year old man, for example, could have a $500,000 benefit account that would be available to him if he ever needed long term care or home care.  If not needed, the full amount would be payable to his estate.

If your overall circumstances allow you to use your social security check in this manner, I advise you to get exact figures from a responsible agent for your own particular situation.

Even if the ‘benefit’ account has no appeal to you,  you are well advised to take the social security check as soon as you are eligible, using it to make an outside investment that you can have full control over.

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All the experts who shouted that it was stupid to put IRA funds into a variable annuity must now be re-evaluating their recommendations. Their solution was to simply invest in no-load funds or index funds, and let the stock market do its thing over the long haul.

The reasoning that it was totally wrong to 'put a tax shelter inside a tax shelter' ignored one simple truth: GUARANTEES ARE WORTH SOMETHING!

Woe to those who trusted this advice and are now wondering what to do about their retirement income.

Now is the time for those who ignored the 'expert' advice and took advantage of the 'costly' guarantees offered by annuity companies are congratulating themselves for being so stupid as to listen to that greedy planner who recommended using an annuity alternative for that IRA or 401k plan.

In the meantime, those with the index funds have seen their accounts diminish by 40% or more. How long will they have to wait to retire now? How long before their account values return to the balance they saw at their 2008 peak?

With all the turmoil in the investing markets these days, it seems natural to ask the question: WHAT IS SAFE ANY MORE?

Can you even trust your favorite charity to keep up their end of the bargain � to continue sending you a check for your lifetime?

Like all annuity contracts that guarantee lifetime income, there is a vast amount or regulation that governs what investments can be made. This holds true for charitable annuities as well as commercial annuities. As a matter of fact, if you examine the workings of a gift annuity, you will likely find that an insurance company is in the picture, but behind the scenes.

Since annuities are long term contractual obligations, insurance companies can make long term investments. Government bonds are available that lock in interest rates for over 20 years, enabling companies to know what their funding sources for long term obligations are.

Does that mean that those bonds do not fluctuate in value? No, their value in the marketplace goes up and down every day in the market. However, their value at maturity does not vary, and the interest they pay is not affected by the the market.

The publicity regarding AIG has caused many to question the integrity of all insurance contracts, but further information should clarify the validity of the insurance regulatory system that is working quite well. No AIG annuity contract will be in jeopardy, and the many insurance companies in the AIG portfolio are sound.

For those who would be interested, it will still be possible to pass up to $100,000 directly to charity from and IRA account. This is one way to take money from an IRA and have nothing taken out for income taxes. Thank you, U.S. Congress! Hopefully, there are plenty of folks who are in a position to make such a contribution.

There are a lot more folks out there who would like to benefit charity, but are not in a position to give away a large portion of their hard earned life savings. For those folks, there is an alternative: Would you consider giving $100,000 from your IRA to a gift annuity, if you received a $200,000 paid up insurance contract in return? What if you could use that $200,000 to pay for nursing care at home or in a facility? Would it make a difference?

If the answer is  YES ? then  order a copy of the free report that is offered on our home page.

In spite of the fact that we live in the AGE OF INFORMATION, we are still befuddled as a nation when it comes to dealing with insurance contracts. It is with this in mind that I have written and published THE ANNUITY-FROM MYSTERY TO MASTERY. Further information regarding the book can be taken from the website � www.safemoneyplus.com

Of particular interest to me, at this stage of my life, is the chapter dealing with CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES. It appears that more people would take advantage of this plan if only it was properly offered to them. That is the intent of this website.

If you have an interest in doing more for your favorite charity, you can do so by asking for more information, and also by sharing the website with others.  You only need to ask and you will be given the information that is relative to your personal needs and goals.

All the talk about 'capital gains tax' assumes that such gains actually exist. One of the results of the recent0 stock market debacle is that there will be little capital gains taxes imposed, in some cases for years to come. This assumes, of course, that you have actually booked the loss for tax purposes.

Along with the loss of tax incentives to include a charity in your planning, you have the added concern of meeting your own lifetime planning needs.  If one of the planning needs is to have funds available for home care or facility care, then you should know that you can do both. You can be a hero to charity at the same time as funding your health care needs, You need only to sit down with your planner and discuss the report which is available to you from our home page.