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Beneficiary Designation Gifts

Make a Future Gift of Financial Assets

Did you know you likely have assets not covered in your will or trust? It is important to keep your beneficiary designations up to date on all your financial accounts.

Donating part or all of your life insurance and/or unused financial assets, such as your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension, brokerage account, annuity, bank account or other financial asset, is an excellent and simple way to make a gift to University of Texas Medical Branch to help further our mission.

Benefits of Gifts of Retirement and Other Financial Assets

• Support the causes that you care about
• Continue to use your account as long as you need to
• Simplify your planning
• Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
• Heirs can instead receive tax-advantaged assets from the estate
• Receive potential estate tax savings from an estate tax deduction

How to make a gift of retirement and/or other financial assets

Your IRA, 401(k), brokerage account, life insurance policy, and other financial accounts are called "non-probate assets" and they need to be planned for separately from your will or trust.

To leave these types of assets to UTMB, you will need to complete a beneficiary designation form provided by your retirement plan custodian. If you designate UTMB as a beneficiary, we will benefit from the full value of your gift because your retirement assets will not be taxed at your death. Your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.

Important considerations for your future

If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment or bank account and continue to freely use your account. You can also change your mind at any time in the future for any reason, including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.

Future gifts from your retirement assets

Did you know that 40%-60% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? 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 a qualified charity, such as University of Texas Medical Branch. As a charity, we are not taxed upon receiving an IRA or other retirement plan assets. You can use the "Make a Future Gift of Retirement Assets" tool to contact your retirement plan custodian and designate a future gift to UTMB.

Contact us

If you have any questions about leaving a beneficiary designation gift to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.

If you have already designated us as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, please contact us to let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your gift.

Additional Information

Flexibility—Most beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name University of Texas Medical Branch as a "full" or "partial" beneficiary of your account or life insurance policy. You can also name University of Texas Medical Branch as a "primary" or "contingent" beneficiary.

Family Considerations—Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the causes that matter most to you. With a designation form you could, for example, name your spouse as the "primary" beneficiary and each of your children and University of Texas Medical Branch as "partial contingent" beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she would receive the account. If not, the account or policy would be paid out to your children and University of Texas Medical Branch in whatever shares (or percentages) that you chose on the designation form.

Terminology—Beneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. Common terminology includes "beneficiary designation" but also includes "payable on death" or "transfer on death." The term "beneficiary designation" is most commonly used when naming beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term payable on death (or "POD") typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account or certificates of deposit, and transfer on death (or "TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about Beneficiary Designation gifts.
To download a brochure and learn more about TOD gifts.
To download a brochure and learn more about POD gifts.

Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate—Some states even allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which would allow you to name University of Texas Medical Branch as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or new beneficiary designation deed.

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