Asking for Money Back - Awkward!

One of the most awkward tasks faced in the Gift Planning Office is having to ask for the return of a payment - or payments - made when not notified of the death of the last surviving annuitant.

Read about the legal, tax, and family relation issues your organization might face depending on how you handle this situation.

• Quick Tip: GiftWrap 1099-R Printing Troubleshooting Tips
• PG Calc Solutions for Annual Compliance Reporting
• Marketing Corner: Titles Speak Louder Than Copy
• It's Not Too Late to Sign Up for 2017 Webinar Series and Save!
• PGM Updated with Latest Tax Tables
• Filing Deadlines for 1099-R and K1
• Willamette University Prefers PG Calc and PGM

Quick Tip: GiftWrap 1099-R Printing Troubleshooting Tips
As many GiftWrap clients focus on preparing 1099-R tax forms for their gift annuitants this month, we offer a few tips to help avoid the most common problems when printing onto pre-printed forms.

Data doesn’t fit forms correctly
Simply put, this issue arises because GiftWrap produces the 1099-R information in the precise size required to fit data into the little boxes on the pre-printed 1099-R forms.  However, many printers and some browsers automatically resize before printing.

You can identify the resizing issue because the data will typically print a little too low relative to the boxes on the top half of the 1099-R form and too high on the bottom half.  The trick is to persuade your printer to print the GiftWrap data without alteration.

In the Print Dialog window, look for the setting that controls sizing. Printer drivers use different terms, but you want “Page Scaling” set to “None” or “Actual Size”.  In Chrome, there is a checkbox labeled “Fit to page” and this box must be unchecked. 

Use correct PDF format
When printing forms, always make sure the Display Option at the bottom of the 1099-R form in GiftWrap is set to PDF, not Report Viewer.  If you do choose Report Viewer, then you must choose the printer icon in the report viewer to generate the PDF version of the report for printing.

If you are running GiftWrap in Firefox, check the settings under Tools – Options – Applications.  In the Content Type column on the left, find “Portable Document Format (PDF)” and make sure it is set to “Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox).” If this is set to any other value, expect the printing alignment to be off.

Choose the correct form
Select the appropriate Form (A or B/C) from the dropdown list to match the pre-printed forms you are using. If you select Copy B/C and print onto form A, the name and address will not format correctly in the boxes.

Blank perforated forms
Printing the entire form onto blank perforated forms avoids issues with fitting data into boxes. This is a good option for small numbers of 1099-Rs, but be aware that printing the full form plus data onto blank perforated forms is a much slower print job. 

Last resorts
If our tips don’t solve the issue, try a different printer. If that doesn’t work, send a scan of the offending form to Support@pgcalc.com and we’ll call you back. Or call Client Services at 888-474-2252.

PG Calc Solutions for Annual Compliance Reporting
It’s that time of year again! Many states that regulate Charitable Gift Annuities require annual reporting by February 28 from each organization issuing CGAs in their territory. In addition, a large number of organizations handle their financial accounting on a calendar-year basis, so they need FASB liability estimates early in the New Year to reflect values as of December 31. The reports that are required for state reporting and FASB liabilities are complicated mathematical exercises involving life expectancies and estimates of investment returns.

The good news is that PG Calc offers relatively easy solutions to address these unusual needs. For clients who want less of a hands-on experience, we provide state reserve and FASB liability reports as a service. In most situations, we can turn around these types of reports in 10 to 15 business days. The most important part of the process is getting all of the relevant information up front – details about the gift vehicles, as well as specific information about the annuitants and beneficiaries.

The other solution – which is a bit more hands-on – is PG Calc's extraordinary GiftWrap application, which can produce state reserve and FASB liability reports at the flick of a switch (once all of the person and gift information has been entered into the database). On a recurring annual basis, only a modest amount of data needs to be updated to produce new reports. The purchase of a GiftWrap license opens the door to PG Calc’s unlimited assistance; moreover, the optional GiftWrap Payment and Tax module affords the organization a chance to handle other aspects of gift administration internally, such as the issuing of payments and meeting tax reporting requirements.

Please feel free to contact Christopher Lee right away if you are interested in either of these solutions for your annual compliance reporting needs. You may reach Chris at 888-474-2252 or clee@pgcalc.com.

Marketing Corner: Titles Speak Louder Than Copy
Every week presents another opportunity to hone my marketing skills doing something I find extremely difficult - writing. Whether for gift officers or donors, there is always an article or marketing communication beckoning to be created or revised. It's not easy for many reasons: finding the inspiration, determining the message and tone, reinventing new ways to say the same thing, but that is to be expected. Isn't that a marketer’s job?

Read More>>

It's Not Too Late to Sign Up for 2017 Webinar Series and Save!
PG Calc’s 2017 Webinar Series will start off with a bang next week (January 26) with a presentation on counting revocable gifts from leading gift planning researcher, Professor Russell James. Every month this year, PG Calc will bring you topics that will help you and your colleagues become better gift planners, presented by our own expert staff, or national figures, such as Professor James. Join us from the comfort and convenience of your own office or a nearby conference room. Sign up for the whole series and attend 12 sessions for the price of 9, a $285 savings!

Register>>

PGM Updated with Latest Tax Tables
Today, PG Calc sent an email to all current Planned Giving Manager clients announcing the release of version 7.4 (PGM 7.4). PGM 7.4 features tax tables updated with 2017 indexing for inflation, including the new $5,490,000 estate and gift tax exemption. It also includes changes that reference the early termination language provided in Revenue Procedure 2016-42 as a solution for CRATs that fail the 5% probability of exhaustion test. Please contact PG Calc Client Services at support@pgcalc.com or 888-474-2252 if you have not received the update email or have any questions about the update.

Filing Deadlines for 1099-R and K-1
Tax season is upon us!  Here are your filing deadlines for Charitable Gift Annuities and Pooled Income Funds.

1099-R Filing Deadlines for Charitable Gift Annuities

K-1 Filing Deadlines for Pooled Income Funds

K-1s for income beneficiaries are technically due 4/18/17 but they’ll be looking for them by February, so prepare earlier if possible.

GiftWrap produces all the tax forms and files listed above.  Contact Client Services at 888-474-2252 or support@pgcalc.com for assistance.

Willamette University Prefers PG Calc and PGM
Cathy McCann Gaskin, Associate Director of Planned Giving at Willamette University, was recently using PG Calc’s Planned Giving Manager to calculate payments for a sample flexible deferred gift annuity.  She ran into a discrepancy concerning the payout rate and contacted PG Calc Client Services for help.  With the advice from PG Calc, she was able to overcome the difficulty and produce the outcome she expected.  In response to the support and recommendation from PG Calc, Cathy said the following:

“Thanks so much!  I think we are just amazed at how much more user-friendly and intuitive this program is compared to what we had before! It's just too easy, therefore we must be doing something wrong!  :-)    I appreciate the very quick response too - also something we did not experience with our last vendor. We are Happy PG Calc users.”

Learn more about PGM>>

Learn more about Willamette University>>