Policy 2303: Annuity Contracts and Other Life Income Agreements

Subject Area: Gifts and Private Grants
Responsible Office: Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations
Approval: Trustees
Originally Issued: January 1949
Revised: July 1984
Refer Questions To: Denise Chan Gans, 773-702-0882

Purpose: To provide guidelines governing the acceptance and management of annuity contracts and life income agreements.

Policy

  1. The University is authorized to accept all forms of life income gifts such as unitrusts, annuity trusts, gift annuities, and pooled income fund gifts.
  2. Recognizing that any University officer can sign a life income document on behalf of the University, it is preferred that either the Vice President and General Counsel or Chief Financial Officer so sign.
  3. No unitrust or annuity trust shall be written for less than $50,000 and no pooled income fund or gift annuity shall be written for less than $10,000.
  4. No life income gift shall have a beneficiary younger than age 50.
  5. Payout rates to beneficiaries will be determined by the Investment Office.
  6. It is recognized that in all cases gifts shall be accepted which provide reasonable assurance that the University shall ultimately realize a substantial portion of the initial gift.
  7. A gift annuity is a part gift and a part purchase of an annuity from the University. Therefore, rates paid to annuitants should be computed to produce an eventual gift to the University of approximately 50% of the amount originally distributed to the University.
  8. Annuity funds may be invested in an Annuity Merger or separately invested as the Investment Office so determines.