Gennaro MarsicoSeveral weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Gennaro "Jerry" Marsico, C'99, about his professional role as a financial planner and how that led him to include Saint Vincent College in his estate plans.

What has motivated you to consider a planned gift for the College?
"I have always had strong feelings for the College. The administration and faculty really cared about bestowing actual knowledge and teaching us 'how to think' in the true liberal arts tradition (Jim Meny for showing me that Aristotle helps us answer the deeper questions of life, and Father Rene for showing me that the lessons of the past are cyclical themes that reoccur in the future, and Father Vernon who demonstrated that understanding the mind and behavior is helpful to everything we encounter in the real world). As a result, I have been blessed with a fulfilling career in the financial services industry. Success in law school and other professional programs at the Harvard Kennedy School and Wharton never would have occurred without that solid educational foundation.

Gennaro MarsicoAs a financial advisor, I am naturally 'wired' to think in terms of the 'long-run' picture. Charitable giving is an important part of one's legacy. Two examples of my plan include:

  1. Creating a charitable fund that benefits Saint Vincent College, and
  2. Naming SVC as a partial beneficiary on some of my retirement accounts, which, from a tax-perspective, makes great sense since human beneficiaries inheriting traditional retirement assets like a 401(k) or an IRA can face some unfavorable tax consequences. From my view, if one is inclined to leave his/her estate to both the loved ones and a charity, it might save taxes to leave the retirement assets to the charities (Saint Vincent College) and the non-retirement money to family.

If someone was thinking about making a planned gift, what would you recommend as a first step?
Gennaro Marsico"Get in the habit of being charitable now! By this, I mean start giving, or increase your giving to Saint Vincent on an annual basis to help with immediate needs. Then, think about the mark you want to leave when you are gone. Naming Saint Vincent as a beneficiary on your IRA allows you to live off the assets during your retirement years while leaving the remainder (or some of the remainder) to the College. The best part is that this type of planning is 'free.' Changing your beneficiary costs nothing and involves little more than signing a form. Unlike other avenues of estate planning, there are no legal fees or complicated documents to execute."

Jerry, how about one final comment about your commitment to Saint Vincent College?
"Most importantly, my wife, Jennifer, is my best friend and fully supportive of these plans. We share a collective spirit of generosity always keeping in mind how blessed and fortunate we have been and our Christian responsibility to look out for others as stewards of God's resources that stands as the focus of our charitable giving."

—James D. Bendel, C’60
james.bendel@stvincent.edu, 724-805-2948