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Make a Future Gift of Retirement Assets

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Thank you for considering a IRA gift to us. A sample letter is available to send to your DAF provider. You may save and print the PDF of your letter. If you have email contact information for your DAF provider, you may send a PDF copy of your DAF letter or you may copy and paste the text into an email. You will need to enter the amount of your recommended grant and your DAF account number on the letter before mailing. If you would like to notify us of your generous gift, please complete the Notify us of your DAF Gift section.

Beneficiary Designation Gifts

Designate Wheaton as your beneficiary

Beneficiary designations allow you to transfer assets directly to individuals, regardless of the terms of your will. They are often made when a financial account, bank account, retirement account, or life insurance policy is established, but can be made at any time and are a great way to make a meaningful planned gift to Wheaton.

Flowchart: Donor executes designation form with account custodian to designate Wheaton as beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account.

Make a future gift of retirement assets

If you are like most people, you probably will not use all of your retirement assets during your lifetime. Donating part or all of your unused retirement assets, such as your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension, or other tax-deferred plan, is an excellent way to make a gift to Wheaton College.

Benefits

  • Simplify your planning.
  • Support the causes that you care about.
  • Continue to use your account as long as you need to.
  • Heirs can receive other assets that are more tax-friendly to them.
  • Suppose you designate a charity like Wheaton as the beneficiary of your IRA. In that case, your estate can receive a potential estate tax deduction for the total value of the IRA assets transferred to Wheaton upon your death.

Did you know that 40%-60% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? Rather than leave retirement assets to your heirs, another option is to leave your heirs assets that receive a step up in basis, such as real estate and stock, and give the retirement assets to Wheaton. We are not taxed as a charity upon receiving an IRA or other retirement plan assets.

How to make a gift of retirement assets

Below, review the helpful steps to make a future gift of retirement assets. You can also use the "Make a Future Gift of Retirement Assets" tool on this page to contact your retirement plan custodian and designate a future gift to Wheaton College.

  • Contact your plan custodian (such as Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, etc.) and request a change of beneficiary form. Some custodians may have a downloadable change of beneficiary form on their website.
  • You can designate Wheaton to receive all or a portion of your retirement plan. (Note when filling out the form, use Wheaton's legal name and EIN number: "Wheaton College" and "04-2103638".)
  • Return your form to your plan custodian as directed by their submittal procedures. It is essential to contact Wheaton regarding your gift so you can specify whether you want your gift to be unrestricted or restricted for a particular college priority. Notifying the college also affords us the opportunity to recognize your gift, welcome you to the Founders Society, and claim the proceeds of your gift in the future.

Contact us

If you have any questions about gifts of retirement assets, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions that you have.

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