Ministers and retirement

I've occasionally heard ministers say that they do not find retirement mentioned in the Bible so they have no intention of retiring. That's fine, but eventually even the most dedicated minister will find that his or her energy level isn't what it used to be. They will need to slow down which may preclude them from serving in ministry. Perhaps an illness will sideline them. I once knew a man who loved the ministry but a stroke made it impossible for him to continue preaching. There are any number of factors that might force a minister into retirement.

Some might respond that they are going to trust God to take care of them and their families. I believe that He will, but how exactly will He do that? Will He drop groceries off at your front door or make your mortgage and utility payments from His debit card? Or, has He given you the wisdom and ability to plan today for your eventual retirement? I think it is most likely the latter.

Before I go any further into this planning it is important to mention one other thing I saw happen too many times as a judicatory minister. I encountered a number of ministers who had done nothing to prepare financially for retirement and had to keep working. While I appreciated their willingness, this wasn't always the best thing for the churches they were serving. In more than one case, the minister had remained far longer than he had been effective, and the church was too gracious to say anything to him. The church's decline matched that of their pastor. That is a very unfair thing to do to a church.

In today's post the planning I will address is the financial one. I recently talked with a pastor in his mid-50s who had nothing set aside for retirement. He was not a member of a denomination that offered a retirement package, and neither he nor his church had budgeted anything to go into a retirement account. Unfortunately, you can multiply his situation by the thousands.

Dave Ramsey recommends that after paying off your debts and setting up a six-month emergency fund you begin putting 15 percent of your income into a retirement account. Your first reaction to that might be that it's not possible. Well, thousands of people have proven that it is possible. It's only impossible if a person insists on living on more than he or she makes. If you've never read his book The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness I encourage you to do so. It will explain the steps you can take to make this possible.

Many denominations offer a retirement plan that the church can pay into and the minister can add to. The denomination in which I serve has such a plan. Now that I've reached retirement age I only wish I had enrolled in it sooner and paid more into it. Our plan recently opened up to persons outside our denomination which is great news for ministers serving in non-denominational churches.

Scripture is clear that we are responsible to provide for our families. That would certainly include making sure that we can continue to provide for them in retirement. Regardless of your age or income I would encourage you to start today looking into how you can best plan financially for your retirement.