While retirement assets can be a costly gift to distribute, they make ideal donations to charitable organizations such as UBC. By naming The University of British Columbia as a direct beneficiary of your RRSP or RRIF, you will avoid paying probate fees on those assets. This means more of your estate goes to something important to you. A donation to UBC can also offset taxes owed on other retirement assets. You may designate UBC as a 100% beneficiary or a partial beneficiary.
Just as with RRSPs and RRIFs, it is possible to name the university as a beneficiary of your Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA).
A gift is easy to make: simply obtain a beneficiary designation form from your plan’s provider and complete the form with UBC’s legal name (The University of British Columbia) and charitable business number (10816 1779 RR0001).
If you would like to dedicate your gift to a specific faculty, endowment or program on either campus, please make your wishes known in a separate letter. Our staff at UBC Gift & Estate Planning will be pleased to help.
We also can accept gifts from the United States. Please ask us for details about naming the university as the beneficiary of American retirement plans through The American Foundation for The University of British Columbia.
If you prefer to make withdrawals from your RRSP and RRIF plans and donate during your lifetime, we can also help. Given that any withdrawal is considered taxable income, the UBC donation receipt will help offset taxes owing. This is particularly beneficial to those who have accumulated more in their RRSPs or RRIFs than they need and are concerned about their tax exposure.
Born in Winnipeg, Vivian Lucas graduated from UBC with a BSc in Nursing in 1967. She decided to use planned giving as a way to support her alma mater. Her gift will help prepare a new generation of nurses — while taking advantage of a few tax benefits.
It’s difficult to imagine finding the courage to think about others when faced with a life altering injury, but that’s just the sort of person Allan Northrop was.
If you would like to learn more about RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and estate planning, we would be pleased to help. We can answer your questions about general estate planning and provide additional information on endowments, student awards and the other gift opportunities at UBC. We also can help you, your lawyer or notary draft customized wording for your will. Please contact us.
Learn more about planned giving at UBCVancouver Campus Gift and Estate Planning UBC Development Office
500 – 5950 University Blvd
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3
604.822.5373
Okanagan Campus Gift and Estate Planning UBCO Development Office
Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Way
Kelowna, BC V1V 2Z1
250.807.8532
