The Board of Directors of the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) recently reduced its expected return assumption from 5.75% to 5.25%. A new Charitable Gift Annuity rate schedule has been developed reflecting this change and is now available for annuities issued on February 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.

A recent tax law change promises to help give those of us who are 70 1/2 years old some much needed financial flexibility as we struggle to manage our finances during this difficult economic time. A key provision in the recently passed “Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008” is designed to help alleviate the financial burden facing seniors who have seen their retirement savings shrink dramatically. The new provision provides relief to seniors by allowing them to continue to keep money in retirement accounts that they are typically required by law to withdraw once they reach age 70 1/2.

President-elect Obama has included estate tax reform in his "middle class" tax cut plan. His estate tax reform plan would (1) eliminate the scheduled repeal of the estate tax in 2010 (and the return of the pre-2001 rates and rules in 2011), (2) preserve the present rules for determining the basis of property received at a decedent's death (step-up in basis), rejecting the application of carryover basis at death, (3) set the applicable exclusion amount at $3.5 million, indexed for inflation after 2011, (4) make the unused applicable exclusion amount of a deceased spouse available to the surviving spouse, and (5) set the top estate tax rate at 45%.