Serving the Philanthropic Community Since 1927

Important information for all gift planners.

Note: The Philanthropy Protection Act of 1995 prohibits the payment of commissions or remuneration to anyone based on the value of a charitable gift annuity given to a public charity, and also requires the charity to provide a Disclosure Statement to the donor prior to the receipt of the donor's first annuity gift given to that charity. See text of the Law below and the Statement by the National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG) and the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) on the payment of commissions by a charity in return for a gift annuity - found at http://www.ncpg.org/.

FULL TEXT OF H.R.2519 - 104th U.S. Congress

Urge Your House Member of Congress to include the Legacy IRA Act (H.R. 1337)—allowing tax-free transfers from IRAs to fund life-income charitable gifts— in a follow-up bill to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (now being considered).

The Legacy IRA Act—What Is It?

• We have learned the House plans to introduce a follow-up bill to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which would include changes in current retirement provisions.
• The bill permits tax-free distributions, up to $400,000, from IRAs to a split-interest entity until December 31, 2021. Split-interest entities include charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable annuity trusts. This is an excellent opportunity for taxpayers 65 and over who depend on their retirement assets but also wish to make a significant charitable impact.

On February 13, 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) adopted final regulations concerning cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies. The regulations took effect on March 1, 2017.

The DFS first issued the proposed regulations in September 2016. After a 45-day comment period, the DFS published updated proposed regulations in December 2016 and allowed 30 additional days for comments. The regulations, as drafted, would have applied to charitable organizations holding special permits to issue gift annuities in New York State. The regulations would have required charitable organizations issuing gift annuities to appoint a Chief Information Security Officer, or hire a third party to fulfill this duty, implement a written cybersecurity policy, develop a plan for disposal of nonpublic information, and conduct periodic risk assessments. Entities which failed to meet these extensive requirements would face undefined penalties. Most issuers of gift annuities outsource administration to banks or trust companies, which are themselves subject to the regulations. Requiring compliance from the charitable sector would create a redundancy.

Note: The following Charitable Gift Annuities Exemption Model Act was approved by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) at its Winter Meeting on 12-07-98 in Orlando, Florida. In early 1999, it was forwarded to the Insurance Commissioners of all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) with its Meeting Minutes, for forwarding to the state legislatures, suggesting that each state legislature choose either it or the Charitable Gift Annuities Model Act and make it a part of the Insurance Law of that state.

APPENDIX A
Draft: 3/17/98
Adopted by the Life Insurance (A) Committee.