According to a survey recently shared by the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, almost one out of two ministers is worried about his financial future. The exact number found in the survey was 49 percent.
And well they should be. That same survey found that slightly more than one-third of the ministers, 36 percent, had not begun to save for their later years. Obviously, if one does not plan for retirement years, one may not be financially prepared when that time comes.
Proverbs 6:6–8 uses the analogy of the ant to point out the wisdom of preparing for what lies ahead. The writer says the ant “prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provisions in the harvest.” That way the ant has provisions to last through all the winter months.
“Observe her ways (the ant) and be wise,” Proverbs declares. Do not be a sluggard. Work. Gather. Prepare. Retirement is coming.
At the end of the last calendar year, 1,399 of Alabama’s 3,217 cooperating Baptist churches had retirement accounts with the Annuity Board for their ministers. That is about 44 percent. Alabama Baptist ministers participating in Annuity Board retirement programs number 3,555.
That nearly half of Baptist churches in Alabama provide some kind of retirement program for their ministers is commendable. Every church should provide retirement benefits for its ministers. An amount equal to at least 10 percent of the minister’s salary should be designated for retirement.
But one should not expect the 10 percent to adequately fund a retirement program. Financial planners now say it takes at least 15 percent over a number of years to provide adequately in retirement.
An analysis of contributions indicates that many individuals in the Annuity Board program put money of their own in a retirement program. Church contributions make up 52 percent of annual contributions from Alabama. Employee contributions account for 43 percent. The other 6 percent comes from the State Board of Missions and helps provide protection benefits for participants.
Increasingly churches are encouraging ministers to contribute to their own retirement program by matching funds put in by the minister. Of course, this is above the 10 percent minimum that churches should provide as part of their personnel expenses.
The Annuity Board has a number of programs to help ministers increase funds flowing into retirement accounts. These contributions can have tax advantages for the minister, as well.
Some live on $500 a month or less
Unfortunately, some ministers began saving for retirement late in life or served churches that contributed only minimally toward the pastor’s retirement. The results are sad. In Alabama, 190 retired Baptist pastors receive $100 or less a month in retirement from the Annuity Board. Another 333 retired pastors receive between $101 and $200 a month. The average retirement benefit paid through the Annuity Board to Alabama Baptists’ 1,762 retired ministers or their widows was $533 in 2003.
In today’s economy, it is hard to live on $533 a month.
That is part of the reason the Annuity Board also sponsors the Adopt an Annuitant program. Nationwide more than 3,000 retired ministers or their widows participate in this program. In Alabama, there were 104 participants at last count.
The program provides a supplementary monthly benefit of $200 for individuals, $265 for couples, whose financial resources are extremely limited. The Annuity Board provides about $3 million a year in relief support through the Adopt an Annuitant program. The Cooperative Program provides about $1.4 million of that amount. The rest the Annuity Board attempts to raise annually.
But 1,399 churches are fewer than half of the Baptist churches in Alabama. What about the pastors who faithfully serve the other half of our state’s congregations?
Some may point out that many churches are small in size and that these pastors have to hold other full-time jobs in order to support themselves. Through these other jobs, the pastors get retirement, for some reason. Therefore, the church does not have to worry about the minister’s retirement.
That may be true for some but not for most. Unfortunately, this mind-set results in lean retirement years for many ministers. The two jobs combined made it possible for pastors to live and care for their families. However, most ministers were not able to put much aside for retirement years.
Recently we listened to a retired pastor tell how God called him to serve small membership churches. Working a second job allowed him to follow that call. Now in his retirement years, he and his wife have very little. The pastor expressed no regrets, only thanks that God was still providing for them through the monthly check from the Adopt an Annuitant program. This man’s story can be repeated again and again.
Churches and ministers both need to follow the example of the ant as Proverbs says. Both need to plan, to prepare, to harvest so that when retirement comes for the ministers, they will not be left without provisions.
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