Charity is, by definition, voluntary. But new rules being considered by the UK government may force charities, family trusts and foundations to stump up a minimum set annual payout for charitable causes, a move that would shake up how their assets are managed.

In a Green Paper on giving, published by the UK Cabinet Office in December last year, the government announced it would look into the suggestion that "foundations should make a minimum payout annually, as is the case in some countries". There are currently no annual payout rulings for foundations registered in the UK.