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 Spend Your Golden Years? What do you want to do in your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s? Do you long for the traditional retirement where you end your career to embark upon a life of leisure? What does leisure look like to you? Touring castles in Scotland or doing crafts with the grandkids? It’s amazing how few people have taken the time to intentionally think through how they would like to spend the ...

https://youtu.be/AU-lyT_PoyA A look at how the clergy housing allowance works and why you can still claim it even without a mortgage.

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 receive at age 70. Primary Insurance Amount When determining your Social Security retirement benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) starts by looking at your earnings history. Your highest 35 years of earnings, to be exact. The index your earnings to account for inflation and come up with your “averaged indexed monthly earnings.” How much money did you make while you were working?  It adjusts every year for inflation, but for someone turning 62 ...

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.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a government insurance program that provides low-cost health insurance to children from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to be able to afford private insurance. This includes many pastors’ children. CHIP Eligibility Is Based On Income Like many such programs, eligibility is based on income. That’s simple for most people, but can be a cause of uncertainty for pastors. You start filling out the forms and when you get to the income line, you pause. Your salary is $30,000. Your housing allowance is $20,000. So what’s your income? $30,000 or $50,000? Ugh! No one else has this problem, why does being a pastor have to be so hard? CHIP Income Calculation & The Clergy Housing Allowance  Being a pastor is hard, I know it. While I can’t fix the people in your church, I can at least solve this little problem ...

https://youtu.be/RSEY8HCVdr0 In this video, Amy answers the following questions:- What is the QBI deduction?- Can a pastor claim the qualified business income deduction? - If so, is the housing allowance part of the calculation?

You didn’t opt out of Social Security because it doesn’t violate your conscience. But that doesn’t mean you like paying the tax. There are probably a lot of things you would rather do with that money. Do you have any other options? Yes, you do. There is a legal way for you to avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes without opting out. And not only does it save you on taxes, but it’s really good for your future self as well. How do you do it? Make pre-tax contributions to your church’s retirement plan. Pastors Pay Payroll Taxes Under SECA Let me explain how that works. First, I have to remind you that pastors pay payroll taxes as if they were self-employed, under SECA. Confused? Read this article.  Because you pay as if self-employed, your payroll taxes do not come out of your salary automatically as they do for other employees. You calculate ...

https://youtu.be/zJAcMvgZBpc Here's a step-by-step description of how to set a housing allowance for a pastor, what needs to be done throughout the year, how to report it to the IRS, and what to do if you have excess housing allowance.

This is a guest post by Chris Cagle, author of RetirementStewardship.com and The Minister's Retirement book. I recently published a book review on his book and it got such a good reception that I asked him to write something specifically for you. In my book, The Minister’s Retirement, I address many of the fundamental questions that pastors have about planning for, and living in, retirement. Wise planning involves making decisions consistent with biblical stewardship principles and implemented using wisdom and practical knowledge gained through experience. I call this “retirement stewardship.” Some decisions are more critical than others, so in this article, I discuss the ones I consider of greatest importance based on the extent to which they can help a pastor to "retire with dignity." 1.  The Social Security Decision Although Christians have mixed opinions about it, Social Security is an expression of God’s common grace. It can be a blessing to Christians and ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l1GfwrTF9U In today's video, Amy answers a question from a Pastor's Wallet reader whose church wants to help him purchase a car and he's wondering if that is considered taxable income.