Beneficiary Designation Gift
A beneficiary designation gift is a simple way to make a gift to support the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research by designating us as a beneficiary of your retirement account, investment account, bank account, or your life insurance policy.
Benefits of a beneficiary designation gift
- Continue to use your account as long as you need to.
- Simplify your planning and avoid expensive legal fees.
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family.
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction.
- Help further the work of the American Enterprise Institute with your gift.
Beneficiary designation video
How a beneficiary designation gift works
- To make your gift, contact the person who helps you with your account or insurance policy, such as your broker, banker, or insurance agent.
- Ask them to send you a new beneficiary designation form.
- Complete the form, sign it, and mail it back to your broker, banker, or agent.
- When you pass away, your account or insurance policy will be paid or transferred to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, consistent with the beneficiary designation.
Important considerations for your future
If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment, or bank account and continue to freely use your account. You can also change your mind at any time in the future for any reason, including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.
- Flexibility. Most beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research as a “full” or “partial” beneficiary of your account or life insurance policy. You can also name AEI as a “primary” or “contingent” beneficiary.
- Family Considerations. Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the causes that matter most to you. With a designation form, you could, for example, name your spouse as the “primary” beneficiary and each of your children and AEI as “partial contingent” beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she would receive the account. If not, the account or policy would be paid out to your children and AEI in whatever shares (or percentages) you chose on the designation form.
- Terminology. Beneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. Common terminology includes “beneficiary designation” but also includes “payable on death” or “transfer on death.” The term “beneficiary designation” is most used when naming beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term “payable on death” (POD) typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account, or certificates of deposit, and “transfer on death” (TOD) often involves the designation of a beneficiary for stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
- Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate. Some states even allow “beneficiary designation deeds” or “transfer on death deeds”, which allow you to name AEI as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or a new beneficiary designation deed.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about leaving a beneficiary designation gift to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.
If you have already designated us as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your gift.
