Browsing Category Retirement

Because I specialize in working with pastors, I’m always on a quest to get inside pastors’ heads. In order to serve you effectively, I need to understand your world, your needs, your wants, and your struggles. I do this in many ways, such as discussions with my financial planning clients, emails I receive from my readers, and the comments in our Pastor’s Wallet Online Community. I have noticed a common theme among the struggles that pastors face and the regrets that ...

Whether or not you ever want to stop working, it is important to plan and prepare for retirement just in case your health or your spouse force you to slow down at some point. A lot of people say that their retirement plan is to simply not retire, but real life has shown us that that isn’t always an option. Knowing that, it is irresponsible not to plan for being unable to work someday. The biggest part of a retirement plan ...

Pastors who save into their church’s retirement plan are eligible to withdraw some of that money as a tax-free housing allowance in retirement. It’s a great benefit to have. Unfortunately, a lot of church retirement plans have investments with higher fees than are available in IRAs. Because of this, I have been asked multiple times if it is worth it. Does the ability to claim a housing allowance outweigh the cost of the higher fees? As with everything in financial planning, ...

People over 50 are eligible to make extra contributions to their 403(b) plans. However, some plans even let younger people make extra contributions. Here is everything you need to know regarding eligibility, limits, etc. for making extra contributions to your 403(b). View post

The following is an excerpt from my book, The Pastor’s Wallet Complete Guide to the Clergy Housing Allowance: The IRS says it’s still possible to claim a housing allowance even after you retire and stop receiving a paycheck. Unfortunately, there is no clear law or hard and fast rules about this. There is little guidance and not a lot of certainty, so what we do know is cobbled together from various Revenue Rulings issued by the IRS.  Even in retirement, the rules ...

https://youtu.be/9VV0m-JA9HE There is only one time when a gift to a pastor can be tax-free, and that is at retirement IF certain IRS criteria are met.

https://youtu.be/HS-v_wlFMVY Can money in a 403(b) be claimed as a housing allowance in retirement for someone living in a life care facility where the cost includes meals and medical care? How should that situation be handled?

When you get married, two become one and you set out on the exciting journey of building a life together. You dream about the ministry you’ll have together, what your kids will look like, even the sports that they’ll play. However, there’s one thing that you probably haven’t taken the time to dream about together and it’s a whole lot more important than what sports your kids play. How do you want to spend your golden years? How Do You Want To ...

You’ve been paying in year after year. After year. After year. And paying double on top of that. Over fifteen percent of your income has been going towards Social Security since you entered the ministry. When does it all pay off? When do you start receiving the benefits? You can file for and begin receiving your Social Security retirement benefits any time between ages 62 and 70. However, what you receive at age 62 is vastly different than what you would ...

https://youtu.be/lBWDamiGLxo Today's video looks at how opting out of Social Security affects Medicare benefits and what happens when pastors already have 40 Social Security credits before opting out.