Another “one time” opportunity for clergy who opted out of Social Security to jump back in may be offered. A bill is progressing through congress to do just that. Baptist Press reports the latest news on it. https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/clergy-act-advances-from-house-ways-and-means-committee/
I’ve been retired for 14 years now and don’t circulate among the pastors’ conferences, conventions, and meetings where a lot of pastors and clergy staff congregate and gab. But, on occasion, I will run into some on the pickleball court or elsewhere. A short while ago it was volunteered to me, “Yeah, I opted out years ago, my retirement is very meager.”
It wasn’t stated but the decision was obviously one that was regretted.
Clergy have a short window to do this and many fall for the siren song of “you won’t have to pay SECA taxes, 15.3%, on your church income.” Not discussed is the morality of signing the form where you declare a moral objection to receiving government benefits. All of my contemporaries with whom I have had this discussion are doing both: they are free from the tax on clergy income but are receiving some level of payment from Social Security and Medicare benefits. Guidestone explains the matter thoroughly and encourages serious thought before you opt out. Their program of support, charity, for retired but poor clergy (“Mission Dignity”) assists many who opted out, never saved and are impoverished in retirement.
That is plainly hypocrisy but they have it rationalized in their own mind. I no longer engage in any discussions of the matter because no minds are changed. Waste of time. God can judge.
I will simply state here to younger clergy who are influenced to opt out or who have already done so recently, opt back in if the window opens. It’s the right decision.
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Personally, my retirement is comfortable in part because of Social Security and Medicare.
It is tough in the ministry these days. Don’t make it tougher than it already is. I haven’t seen the data but with the overall numbers of churches declining and the proportion of clergy staff who serve large churches which have greater resources and more generous staff benefits, I suspect that clergy are less susceptible to ‘opt out’ madness.
