A beneficiary designation is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to ministry that does not require an attorney. You can make a gift of your retirement, investment, or bank account or your life insurance policy.
A Beneficiary Designation Gift can be made simply by completing the appropriate form given to you by your retirement plan administrator, life insurance company, or bank or investment broker. To complete your bequest, designate the Nazarene Foundation as full, partial, primary, or contingent beneficiary using the forms provided by each company, and then tell us how you would like those funds distributed.
Flexibility—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.
Family Considerations—Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the ministries 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 the Foundation 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 the ministries you chose through the Foundation in whatever shares (or percentages) were written on the designation form.
Terminology—Common terminology is "beneficiary designation" but you might also see "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 CD, and transfer on death (or "TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate—Some states allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which would allow you to name Church of the Nazarene Foundation 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.
Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about Beneficiary Designation gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about Transfer on Death gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about Payable on Death gifts, click here.
***If you have made the Foundation a beneficiary of any of your accounts or insurance policies, please contact us to designate the church or ministry to which the funds will be distributed.
