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Retirement assets are easily designated
for charity on the beneficiary
designation form (a link to the document is provided below). You can name a charity to receive
100 percent or a portion of your retirement account upon your death.
Your asset manager may require a tax identification number in order for you to designate Smith College as a beneficiary. The college’s tax id number is 04-1843040. Please contact the Office of Planned Gifts & Bequests. We will respond promptly with the information that you need.
Retirement assets have never had taxes paid on them,
so they are subject to income taxes when you withdraw them. If you die before withdrawing
them, your heirs must pay the income taxes on the assets at their own respective
tax rates. If you have a taxable estate, the assets will also be subject to inheritance taxes.
For more information about potential double taxation of retirement assets left to your heirs,
please see the article that
appeared in Smith’s planned giving newsletter, “Charitable Times.”
In addition, an article by
the manager of estate planning for Mellon Private Asset Management, outlines the
elements of using retirement assets to fund a charitable gift.
If you name Smith as beneficiary of your retirement
assets, please send us a beneficiary
designation form to let us know how you would like Smith to use your gift when it arrives.
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