The holiday season is upon us, though COVID-19 will dim the lights: Macy’s M, +3.52% world-famous Thanksgiving Day parade proceeded without spectators and Santa Claus, who has appeared there every Christmas since the Civil War, did not greet children in person at the flagship Herald Square store.

节日季即将来临，尽管2019冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)会让灯光变得昏暗:世界闻名的梅西百货(Macy’s)感恩节大游行全程没有观众，自美国内战以来每年圣诞节都出现在那里的圣诞老人，也没有亲自在先驱广场旗舰店迎接孩子们。

This year, Santa may not come for many charities, either, because they are struggling financially during the pandemic as donors cut back while needs grow. If you have extra money laying around (a big “if” these days) and are considering making a gift to your favorite charity, this would be a good year to do it, and charitable gift annuities (CGAs) are one way to go. These vehicles allow you to make a sizable charitable contribution, get a good tax break and collect a stream of income every year. They have their drawbacks and aren’t for everyone (what is?), but they can be very beneficial to the right people.

今年，圣诞老人可能也不会为许多慈善机构而来，因为在大流行期间，由于捐赠者减少而需求增加，慈善机构正陷入财务困境。如果你有多余的钱(这些天很大的“如果”)，并考虑给你最喜欢的慈善机构做一份礼物，这将是一个很好的年份，慈善礼物年金(CGAs)是一个方法。这些工具可以让你做一笔可观的慈善捐款，获得良好的税收减免，并每年获得源源不断的收入。它们有它们的缺点，并不是每个人都适合(什么适合?)，但它们对合适的人来说是非常有益的。

CGAs have been around for decades and major charities use them as an integral part of their fundraising. Just as a regular annuity is a contract between a purchaser and the insurance company that sells it, a CGA is a contract between the purchaser and the charity to which he or she donates. For a one-time contribution of, say, $10,000 to $20,000 in cash or securities, the donor receives an annuity-like stream of payments until the last beneficiary dies.

CGAs已经存在了几十年，主要的慈善机构将其作为筹款的一个组成部分。就像定期年金是购买者和出售它的保险公司之间的合同一样，CGA是购买者和他或她所捐赠的慈善机构之间的合同。比如，一次性捐赠1万到2万美元的现金或有价证券，捐献者会收到类似年金的源源不断的款项，直到最后一个受益人去世。

Virtually all charities that issue CGAs follow the guidelines of the trade association the American Council of Gift Annuities (ACGA) which sets rates periodically. Currently Doctors Without Borders (a charity to which I contribute) is paying out anywhere from 4.2% a year for someone who starts a CGA at 65 to 8.6% for someone who’s 90+.

实际上，所有发行CGAs的慈善机构都遵循美国捐赠年金协会(ACGA)的指导方针，该协会定期制定费率。目前，无国界医生(Doctors Without Borders)(我参与的一个慈善机构)每年为65岁开始CGA的人支付4.2%，为90岁以上的人支付8.6%。

Lately, charities have been imposing some restrictions on CGAs. “We’re now hearing people say they’ve raised their minimum from $10,000 to $15,000 or even $20,000,” said Rebecca Locke, president of the Board of Directors at ACGA and executive director of gift planning for the American Red Cross. “We’ve also seen some charities who’ve increased the minimum age for current gift annuities.”

最近，慈善机构对CGAs施加了一些限制。ACGA董事会主席、美国红十字会捐赠计划执行董事丽贝卡·洛克(Rebecca Locke)说:“我们现在听到有人说，他们已经把最低捐赠金额从1万美元提高到了1.5万美元，甚至2万美元。”“我们还看到一些慈善机构提高了目前捐赠年金的最低年龄。”

Obviously the earlier you buy one, the longer the charity will have to make annuity payments, assuming average longevity. “If you do a gift annuity for a donor who’s 60, the time horizon on that gift is fairly long,” she said in a telephone interview. Some charities, she noted, are even imposing maximum contribution limits to keep CGAs from becoming too big a part of their endowments.

显然，你买得越早，慈善机构需要支付的年金就越长(假设平均寿命)。她在电话采访中说:“如果你为一位60岁的捐赠者提供捐赠年金，捐年金的期限会相当长。”她指出，一些慈善机构甚至规定了最大捐款限额，以防止CGAs在其捐赠中所占比例过大。

The $10,000 to $20,000 range is where most contributions lie, she told me, and CGAs are most popular among older seniors. “Between 74 and 78 is often the age where you see people doing charitable gift annuities,” said Locke. “At the Red Cross, we see mid-70s as the sweet spot.” She added that charities “are increasing their outreach to younger donors, meaning baby boomers.” Baby boomers? Younger? That’s reassuring.

她告诉我，大多数捐款都在1万美元到2万美元之间，CGAs最受年长老年人的欢迎。骆家辉说:“74到78岁通常是人们捐赠慈善年金的年龄。”“在红十字会，我们认为70年代中期是最佳时机。她补充说，慈善机构“正在扩大对年轻捐赠者的接触，也就是婴儿潮一代。”“婴儿潮一代?年轻吗?这是让人安心。

What do you get for your contribution? First of all, the stream of payments any annuity offers. Doctors Without Borders, a charity I support, is paying out 5.4% annually, or $1,080 a year, to a 75-year-old who buys one of its $20,000 CGAs. Purchasers lock in these payments for the rest of their lives. You can also buy a joint policy, especially with a spouse, so the payments will continue until the second policyholder passes away, at which point what’s left of the gift goes to the charity.

你的贡献得到了什么?首先，年金提供的支付流。我支持的无国界医生(Doctors Without Borders)慈善机构每年向一位75岁的老人支付5.4%的费用，也就是每年1080美元，只要他购买该机构提供的价值2万美元的CGAs。购买者将在他们的余生中锁定这些支付。你也可以买一份联合保险，特别是和配偶一起，这样支付将持续到第二位投保人去世，那时剩下的礼物将捐给慈善机构。

If you itemize, you can get a tax deduction for charitable contributions, but here it gets a bit tricky. The portion of the money that covers your annuity payments is not tax deductible, though the rest is. If you pay with cash, you may get to deduct 25% to 55% of the gift in the year you make the donation, determined by the schedule of payments, the ages of the beneficiaries and a discount rate designated by the IRS. (The 75-year old who bought a $20,000 CGA from Doctors Without Borders would get an estimated tax deduction of $8,523.60.) Every year you’ll receive payments that include taxable ordinary income and tax-free return of principal.

如果你逐项列出，你可以因为慈善捐款获得减税，但这里有点棘手。支付年金的那部分钱是不能免税的，但其余部分可以。如果你用现金支付，你可以在捐赠的一年里从捐赠金额中扣除25%到55%，这取决于支付时间表、受益人的年龄和美国国税局指定的折扣率。(从无国界医生那里购买了2万美元CGA的75岁老人，预计将获得8523.60美元的税收减免。)每年你都会收到包括应纳税的普通收入和免税本金回报。

You can also buy CGAs with appreciated stock or mutual fund shares, which will help avoid a lot of capital-gains taxes on accumulated gains. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser.

你也可以用增值的股票或共同基金股份购买CGAs，这将有助于避免累积收益的大量资本利得税。请咨询你的会计师或税务顾问。

Three drawbacks: Contributions are irrevocable, CGAs pay lower rates than regular annuities and there are no inflation adjustments, which can make them less desirable when inflation is high.

有三个缺点:缴款是不可撤销的，CGAs比常规年金支付的利率更低，而且没有通货膨胀调整，这使得它们在通货膨胀高的时候不那么受欢迎。

Ultimately, though, said Locke, “we do not view this as an investment; this is a gift. If they’re not charitably inclined, this is probably not the vehicle for them.” But for those of you who are, it’s worth considering, especially as the holidays bring this annus horribilis to a close.

不过骆家辉说，最终，“我们不认为这是一项投资;这是一份礼物。如果他们没有慈善倾向，这可能不是他们的工具。但对于那些担心的人来说，这值得考虑一下，尤其是在节日即将结束这可怕一年的时候。