In 2015, Congress made IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions permanent, and now SECURE Act 2.0 makes them even better. A little background: The IRA qualified charitable distribution (“QCD”) allows an individual who has attained age 70 ½ to direct distributions of up to $100,000 from his or her IRA ($105,000 beginning in 2024) directly to one […]
In late 1996, Dan Viehmann was exploring ways to help his mother Alice reduce her taxable estate. Dan’s neighbor, an alumnus of the School of Law, suggested making a charitable gift to Washington University. From that suggestion emerged a philanthropic legacy that promises to provide lasting impact on research in the School of Medicine. After […]
According to a recent study, 67% of Americans don’t have an estate plan. While the pandemic increased awareness of the need for having a will, many of those without estate plans cite “not getting around to it” as the reason. August is National Make a Will Month, an annual reminder of the importance of having […]
For Professor Emeritus and alum James R. Harris, BSArch ’63, BArch ’66, MArch ’71, giving to Washington University has been a way to pay tribute to a place he credits with changing his life, and where he has spent most of his adult years. Originally from Columbia, Missouri, Jim discovered he wanted to pursue a […]
A 20-year-old with a brand-new bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, Gordon Miller, MD ’60, knew he would be a doctor. What remained to be determined was less straightforward: where to attend medical school? To answer this question, Miller turned to every physician whom he knew in his Miami hometown. The responses—apparently invariably—were the same: […]
Building on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, the SECURE Act 2.0 passed by Congress in December 2022 contains many positive changes for those nearing or in retirement. Here’s how you may be able to utilize some of the new law’s provisions: *Income from CGAs funded by IRA rollovers […]
Since the passing of the SECURE Act in 2019, lingering questions remain around its implementation. Earlier this year, the IRS proposed regulations to guide the interpretation of the SECURE Act, and when finalized, these regulations could affect the decisions you make in your retirement and estate planning, particularly regarding your individual retirement accounts (IRAs). A […]
Congress appears ready to approve legislation that would permit distributions from an IRA to fund a charitable life income gift. The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, which is being called “Secure 2.0,” a nod to the Secure Act of 2019. Within the EARN Act is the Legacy IRA […]
Philanthropy can have many forms—giving of time, talent or treasure (or a combination of all three)—however at its core, the definition of philanthropy is making life better for others. In The Soul of Money, Lynne Twist writes, “No matter how much or how little money you have flowing through your life, when you direct that […]
Recent legislation introduced in Congress would reform federal law and change the way donor-advised funds (DAFs) are required to distribute funds. The Accelerating Charitable Efforts Act (ACE) would modify the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, establishing a timeline for distributions from DAFs to working charities. The ACE would create two new types of DAFs: 15-year […]