The first piece of Nazarene literature stated that the church was "for the people and by the people." In light of this fact we are asking you to enter a dialogue with fellow pastors in regards to potential Resolutions that our District would forward to the General Assembly. Examples: change in Budget formula; addition of Article of faith; Pension Formula for retirees.
I think that there should be more of an emphasis on the Pension and Benefit Department and less on the World Evangelism Fund in the future. As world areas get bigger, they should be able to start paying some kind of budget. This would ensure that the American church is not paying for everything. By raising the Pensions and Benefits amount, this would ensure that there could be a raise in the Grandfathered Basic Pension Plan, and maybe give a little more APS supplement to those who will not be on this plan.
More than 500.00 a month. I just finished working in the pensions office for one year. The best pension I ever saw was a pastor who served 50 years. He was lucky to make 600.00 a month.
I would simply decrease the percentage for the budget base of the WEF by 1% and add a percent to P&B. Within the WEF itself, I really don't know what to decrease, because I have not seen a breakdown of what WEF is spent for. I have looked this morning for a little bit, but I really need help finding that page that Tim is talking about. I would really like to see how much is used for administrative cost. I also wonder how much is really going to come out for the Global Ministries Center in the future and how much it will hurt with a non sale of the current Headquarters campus.
The reality about pensions is that we will recieve no pension from the church when we retire. With the advent of the 403b (?) account, we are all self-funding our retirements. True, the denomination adds a whopping $250. per year to our account if your local church contributes at least that, but the fact is that the only money you will have for your retirement is the money you and your church invests in your personal retirement account. It is a self-funded pension. Only those who are grandfathered in will continue to receive a payment from Pensions and Benefits. Self-funding may be ok for pastors of larger churches who can afford it, but I am deeply distressed over what we will do to our pastors who serve in smaller congregations and never put much back for retirement. They will retire with only Social Security and that will be a pittance because they have never made any money to begin with. I have heard of a number of pastors who have left the CON for the United Methodists because of their retirement provisions.
Larry, You are exactly right. It is actually 500.00 from the general church and then another 500.00 if the church pays the budget. The guys and gals who started before 1996 will still get a pension, they are under the grandfather pension plan, but the one who started after, such as myself will not get one, just what is contributed into the account. I just believe that we need to be taking care of our pastors in retirement a little better. And the way to do that is for the General Church to contribute a little more.
Thanks for the clarification. Since you worked in that department, is there projected to be a time when we will no longer be paying our pensions and benefits budget, since there is not a pension plan and the church offers no benefits?
We do receive some benefits as Pastors. We obviously receive an automatic Life Insurance Plan, based on age and paying the budget. I.E. For Me since I am District licensed and under 30, My wife would get 45,000.00 and then it decreases with age. This is only for people who are assigned and working full time. There will always be a continued Annual Pension Supplement. Then the church offers for a price other Life Insurance Plans, Disablity and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Plans as well. So there will always be a Pensions and Benefits Budget. My question would be to make sure that the church is taking that seriously by paying that budget and by allocating more to that budget. If the church would do that, it would actually increase the benefit. Also I know that smaller church pastors don't make as much, but they are responsible for their retirement. There is not one company in America that funds fully a retirement. It is usually matched. And I think the church is trying to help, but it needs to continue to do a little bit more. Also there is a website that will help you out if you don't understand some of the benefits. www.pbusa.org
Russell, I really am concerned what the GMC will actually cost. Especially since the current Headquarters is not sold. They are trying to sell that campus for 5 Million and as far as I know, no one has made an offer for the entire campus. I just hope that the WEF will not be used for the GMC.
One More Thing, I forgot to mention as a benefit is benevolence. The church is willing to help if your insurance has not covered all of your expenses from a major accident or a serious illness. An example would be if a spouse has cancer and you can't afford the 10,000 dollar bill from the hospital. All you would do is call Dr. Spruce and he would call the Pensions and Benefits office and request an Emergency Medical Assistance and the church would write you a check of up to 2,500 dollars. When I worked there, that is the department that i worked in and I sent out over 100,000 dollars in 2007 in EMA. Also there is a death benefit for those who don't have any insurance or the insurance didn't cover the funeral. That is 500-1000 dollars. Again same procedure as the EMA. Call Dr. Spruce or Doug Haynes. These benefits are for Retired or Assigned Ministers (Full Time) who hold a credential. Elder or Deacon.
