Pepperdine People Magazine

Pepperdine People Magazine Spring 2008

Special Delivery

UPS Retiree Makes the Gift of a Lifetime

by Paul Martello

Bill Ramirez began his career in June 1973 on the docks of a small, private delivery company called the United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS treated the recent high school graduate well and Bill liked his job, so he stayed there for 32 years. All those years of service have paid off in a way that Bill and his wife DeAnna never expected. Today they are enjoying retirement with the help of a charitable remainder trust (CRT) with Pepperdine University.

Bill and DeAnna met during high school, married, and together raised two daughters, Amanda and Madisenne. Bill recalls his simple reason for staying with UPS for more than three decades. "I had a responsibility to my family," he says, "and I had an epiphany that life at UPS was more than satisfactory." That revelation inspired Bill to spend his entire career with the company until he retired as district manager in March 2006.

Over the years, Bill acquired a large number of UPS shares. Some were granted to him as a part of the company's compensation plan and others he purchased. That turned out to be a financially savvy move for the Ramirez family. In 1999 UPS issued an initial public offering of 10 percent of the company's shares. In 2005, after several stock splits, UPS stock price hit an all-time high. After a lifetime of hard work and dedication to supporting their family, Bill and DeAnna stepped into their well-deserved retirement.

The couple worked with a financial advisor to ensure their security throughout their retirement years. This involved a big decision: what to do with their highly appreciated UPS stock. Bill's friends and colleagues at UPS, Bob Beaman and David Deland, had already set up CRTs with Pepperdine. They were pleased with their trusts and advised the Ramirezes to establish one.

Bill and DeAnna met with Pepperdine's Center for Estate and Gift Planning team and decided that instead of selling stock and paying taxes they would transfer a portion of their UPS holdings to a CRT with Pepperdine. The CRT allowed Bill and DeAnna to diversify their portfolio, sell their stock without paying capital gains taxes, reduce their income taxes with the charitable deduction, and create a lifetime income stream.

Bill attributes his choice to the trustworthiness of Keith Hinkle, vice president for advancement and public affairs, and the staff of the Center for Estate and Gift Planning. "I'm dealing with people whom I can trust. I found that to be important. That's what makes this decision a good decision."

Perhaps best of all, the Ramirez gift will be used to support scholarships for Hispanic students at Seaver College. Bill hopes to "give these students, especially if they are hard workers, the opportunity to be a part of all this," he says of the Pepperdine opportunity "to study and to look out on that beautiful ocean."

Center for Estate and Gift Planning
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263-4893

Ph: 310.506.4893
Fax: 310.506.4859
E-mail: stephanie.buckley@pepperdine.edu
www.pepgift.org