Using your Retirement Plan Assets to support the College of Media
Retirement plan assets are an important source of income for many people. And like many, you may find that your plan assets are more than sufficient to support you the way you would like in retirement. Your IRA can be a tax-smart way to support the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Qualified Charitable Distribution
If you are over age 70 1/2, you can make a distribution directly from your traditional IRA to a qualified public charity like the University of Illinois Foundation “UIF” to support the College of Media. The funds cannot first be received by the IRA owner and then transferred to charity. In 2025 you may give up to $108,000* per year as an outright gift and up to $54,000* to fund a life-income gift (some rules apply for the latter). Also, if you are still employed, over age 70 1/2, and make a contribution to an IRA, the $108,000 limit is reduced, dollar for dollar, by the amount of any contribution made to the IRA. Your distribution to UIF is not counted as income and therefore not part of your taxable income.
*adjusted annually for inflation
Gifts from Retirement Plans at Death
Making a gift of assets held in an IRA at death can also be very tax efficient and easy to accomplish. The account owner simply needs to complete a beneficiary designation form available through their retirement plan administrator identifying which portion of the account will be left to UIF (Tax ID # 37-6006007) for the benefit of the College of Media. Assets that pass in this manner avoid both income and estate taxes and the full value of the funds are preserved for use by the College of Media.
To learn more, contact Deanne Johnson, senior assistant dean for advancement, at 217-333-0752 or jhns@illinois.edu, or Judy Schneider, UIF director of gift planning, at 217-244-3351 or judiths@uif.uillinois.edu.
The University of Illinois Foundation is the official gift-receiving arm of the University of Illinois and is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization with EIN 37-6006007. The University of Illinois Foundation does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.