Four Reasons to Use Your Retirement Fund for Charitable Giving

“We thank God for your partnership in the Gospel” 
Philippians 1:5

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We share a common passion with you to train pastors and leaders for God’s global church, especially in hard places. How encouraging to also know that you desire to be a wise and faithful steward of all that the Lord has entrusted to you!

As a kingdom steward with a heart for God’s global church, have you considered that your retirement fund might be your greatest resource for generous giving?

Many of our faithful ministry partners have found that giving from their retirement funds (now and as a legacy gift) is the best way to give joyfully and generously while also reducing taxes. 

Here are four reasons why your retirement fund could be the best way to give generously and make a Kingdom Impact.

1. Your retirement fund is likely one of your greatest assets

For many, the impact of making retirement contributions over decades and the growth in investment value means that most of their assets are held within a tax-deferred retirement fund. What a blessing to think of these funds as Kingdom resources and to imagine how they could be used to train pastors and strengthen the church in the Majority World!

2. You may be able to give directly from your IRA and save taxes at the same time!

If you are over age 70 ½, tax law allows you to gift up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to charity and exclude that amount from your annual taxable income. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QDC) and is becoming a favorite way for retirees to increase their giving effectiveness. With the higher standard deduction in recent years, many individuals no longer deduct their charitable contributions. Giving from your IRA reduces your income and still allows you to benefit from the higher standard deduction.

3. A legacy gift from your retirement fund could be a transformative gift

Many Langham donors have found that they will make their largest gift ever by naming Langham as a beneficiary of a portion or all of their retirement fund. 

• This gift costs nothing during your lifetime when you may need the funds, but it can have a powerful impact on the global church in the future. 
• These gift arrangements only require naming Langham Partnership as a beneficiary, and they can reduce taxes for your heirs since most non-spouse beneficiaries will pay taxes when they inherit money from a tax-deferred retirement account.
• If you chose to name Langham as a beneficiary of your retirement funds, we would love to welcome you to our Cross of Christ Legacy Fellowship.

4. A gift from your retirement fund can be an expression of what you love and value

As retirement funds grow over the years, they remind us of God’s provision and his generosity toward us. When we give we demonstrate our gratitude to God and we declare our trust in him to provide. In our giving we also align our hearts with God’s purposes. As our founder John Stott has said, “Our Christian giving can express our theology.  When we give to the maturing of the church, we acknowledge its centrality in God’s purposes and his desire for its maturity.”

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We’re Here to Help! 

If you would like to learn more about how to make a gift from your IRA or other charitable planning strategies, we would love to serve you. Please reach out to Kevin VandenBrink at kevin.vandenbrink@langham.org or 314-488-0256. Additional information can be found here on our Langham Website. We also encourage you to consult your financial or tax advisor to see how these opportunities fit within your specific plans.

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