Many charities offer charitable gift annuities (CGAs). With these arrangements, you donate assets to charity in return for a stream of fixed payments. In this case, the “charity” can be a nonprofit organization such as a college or a hospital.

These payments can continue as long as you live. If you’re married, the cash can keep flowing as long as either spouse is alive. The payments probably will be lower than they would be if you bought an annuity from an insurance company. To compensate, you’ll get a partial tax deduction upfront.

A married couple, both aged 75, might donate $50,000 to a favorite charity and get $3,150 (6.3 percent) a year for the rest of either life: more than they’d get now from a bank account or a money market fund. In addition, they’d get an immediate income tax deduction of around $20,000 for a charitable donation.