Life Stage Planning Guide

Life Stage Planning Guide

Financial planning differs depending on your stage of life. This resource can serve as a guide to use in planning.

Under Age 50

At this stage in life, some of the financial issues you may find yourself dealing with are:
• Life goal planning
• Accumulating and preserving wealth
• Managing debt
• Prudent asset management
• Discretionary savings programs
• Funding college for children
• Funding care for parents
• Diversifying investments and establishing a growth strategy
• Creating a simple will and estate plan that provides for heirs and bequests to charity
• Increasing income; increasing debt

Charitable Giving options that you may want to consider:
• Charitable bequest
• Annual giving: Giving of assets by cash, checks, and credit cards
• Charitable gift annuity
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Designating the Foundation for gifts, memorials, and special events
• Designating employer matching funds to benefit the Foundation
• Donor Advised Funds

Under Age 60

At this stage in life, some of the financial issues you may find yourself dealing with are:
• Life goal planning
• Accumulating and preserving wealth
• Managing debt
• Prudent asset management
• Discretionary savings programs
• Long-range planning for retirement and emergencies
• Diversifying investments and establishing a growth strategy
• Creating a simple will and estate plan providing for heirs and bequests to charity
• Increasing income; decreasing debt

Charitable Giving options that you may want to consider:
• Charitable bequest
• Annual giving: Giving of assets by cash, checks, and credit cards
• Charitable gift annuity
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Designating the Foundation for gifts, memorials, and special events
• Designating employer matching funds to benefit the Foundation
• Donor Advised Funds

Under Age 70

At this stage in life, some of the financial issues you may find yourself dealing with are:
• Comprehensive estate and wealth-transfer planning
• Understanding the transfer-tax system
• Learning about wealth-transfer techniques
• Active financial planning
• Increasing cash flow—charitable gift planning helps minimize taxes
• Shifting to income-producing assets
• Assisting children with debt through annual gifts
• Assisting grandchildren with education expenses
• Concern with the financial future of the next generations
• Using trusts and wealth-transfer strategies to achieve goals
• Taking advantage of charitable trusts to optimize family wealth transfers and maximize tax benefits

Charitable Giving options that you may want to consider:
• Charitable bequest
• Annual Giving: Giving of Assets by Cash, checks, and credit cards
• One-time significant gift
• Charitable gift annuity
• Charitable remainder trust
• Gifts of retirement plans at death
• Designating the Foundation for gifts, memorials, and special events
• Designating employer matching funds to benefit the Foundation
• Donor Advised Funds

Over Age 70

At this stage in life, some of the financial issues you may find yourself dealing with are:
• Maintaining financial stability
• Anticipating healthcare needs and insurance coverage
• Concern about the financial future of younger members of the family
• Charitable Giving options that you may want to consider:
• Charitable bequests
• Annual Giving; Giving of Assets by Cash, checks, and credit cards
• One-time significant gift: Cash, check, and credit card
• Charitable gift annuity
• Charitable remainder annuity trust
• Real estate
• Gifts of retirement plans at death
• Designating the Foundation for gifts, memorials, and special events
• Donor Advised Funds