Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would provide protections for annuitants who are donors to a charity that provides for Charitable Gift Annuities.
 
Charitable Gift Annuities provide donors the opportunity to support a charitable organization, while receiving fixed annuity payments. The payments can begin immediately, or the donor can choose to defer the payments to a future date. The terms of the arrangement are set forth in a contract signed by the non-profit and the donor. The arrangement terminates on the death of the annuitant(s), at which point the non-profit uses the remaining funds on its mission.
 
It is very difficult for smaller charitable organizations to utilize Charitable Gift Annuities under the current law, because the amount of unrestricted cash or publicly traded securities needed to cover the minimum is impractical and unworkable. Under the current law, a smaller foundation or charity must commit a significant amount of foundation resources to the annuity and not to their mission.
 
My legislation would amend the Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act to allow charities to transfer their risk to a commercial insurance company, which will match substantially all future payments of the charity arising from a charitable gift annuity contract obligation.
 
I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation.