The "Beautiful Opportunity" of Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity offers you an opportunity to support St. Tammany Parish Hospital while providing you with a fixed source of lifelong, mostly tax-free payments in return. Plus, many donors find the rates that charitable gift annuities offer to be very attractive.

Roland J. Hymel Jr., a retired insurance executive who made such a gift to the Foundation in 2011, says, "It's a way to support the hospital while at the same time there are financial and tax advantages."

For example, $9,517* of a $20,000 charitable gift annuity would be tax deductible in the year of the donation, Hymel explains. A donor who makes the gift at age 80 would receive $1,360 in annual payments, but pay income tax on only about 15 percent of the amount. "It's a beautiful opportunity," he says. Rates vary by the age of the donor. The yearly payment rate for a gift made by an 80-year-old, for instance, is 6.8 percent. There is also a special rate based on your age and that of your spouse if you make a joint gift.

Dick Knight and his wife, Sally, who support the Foundation through artwork donations and other gifts, are pleased by the opportunity a gift annuity offers. Knight, a Foundation trustee, described charitable gift annuities as "an absolute winner." He adds, "At the end of the day, you can leave a substantial gift to the hospital." In addition, he concludes, you receive payments at an attractive rate.

Levere "Monty" Montgomery and his wife, Anne, also enjoy the tax benefits and payments from their gift to the Foundation. They agree, however, that their primary reason for funding a charitable gift annuity is to help St. Tammany Parish Hospital. "The biggest motivation for me was the good people and the good service provided by the hospital," Montgomery says. "It makes a huge contribution to the quality of life in our community."

* Based on annual payments and a 1.4 percent charitable midterm federal rate