One of the simplest ways to make a gift to New College Foundation is to name us in your assets. You can specify the individuals and charities you want to support and you can also specify the percentage of the assets you want each beneficiary to receive. It's literally as easy as filling out a form.
Beneficiary designations are available when giving the following assets:
Retirement Assets
An alternative to a bequest gift is to designate New College Foundation as the beneficiary of your retirement assets. This gift is simple because you can control the transfer of these assets at your death without changing your will or living trust. All you need to do is request (and complete) a new beneficiary designation form from your plan administrator. There is no need to modify your will or living trust.
A gift of retirement assets has the added advantage of being among the most tax-wise ways to make an estate gift. This is because your retirement assets, if left to individuals, will be subject to income tax when they receive distributions and, in the case of most non-spouses, those distributions must take place within 10 years, potentially pushing designated beneficiaries into higher tax brackets. With a gift to a non-profit such as NCF, 100 percent of the funds are available for its charitable purposes. If you want to remember us in your estate plan, it is often better to leave other types of assets – cash, securities, real estate – to your heirs and give the more heavily taxed retirement asset to New College Foundation.
Life Insurance
Life Insurance policies can also be used to make a gift to NCF. Complete and return to the insurance company a form designating that New College Foundation receives all or a portion of the death benefit associated with your life insurance policy. As an alternative to naming NCF as the beneficiary, you can transfer ownership of the policy. Transferring ownership results in an immediate income tax charitable deduction and potential income tax savings in the year of the gift.