A lot of pastors think when they retire, or even if they retire, is their decision. But is that really the case? And if not, what should you do?

 

Retirement is a hot topic these days, and not just for pastors. In the news, we keep hearing about the retirement crisis. The government is so worried that they released a report back in October with the main purpose of showing that “a comprehensive re-evaluation is needed to better promote future retirement security.”

 

As the trend has shifted from guaranteed pension plans to contribution-based savings vehicles like 403(b)s and 401(k)s, a lot of people aren’t prepared for retirement. Among American households age 55 and older, only 23% have a pension plan, and 29% have no pension and no savings whatsoever. That’s almost a third of the households within a decade of retirement age that haven’t prepared for it at all.

 

Those who haven’t saved for retirement have to depend on Social Security benefits. Many people do. In fact, among elderly Social Security recipients, 23% of married couples and 43% percent of singles get 90% or more of their income from Social Security. But, wait, what do pastors do who have opted out of Social Security? Many say they just won’t retire.

 

Can You Just Not Retire?

A perfect example of this attitude is my father. He is self-employed and at 67 has never saved a penny towards retirement. His plan was to work forever, or at least up until the day he dropped dead. That may sound silly, but a recent survey found that a quarter of people over age 50 say they will never retire.

 

Let me pause a moment and ask you, how many people do you know that were able to do that? To work until the day they died? I know of people who died young in accidents. I’ve heard of middle-aged people having sudden heart attacks. A friend of my mom’s who was in his early sixties died suddenly last month from the flu. It happens, but I think those people are the exceptions, not the norm.

 

Most people experience something more like my dad. He was working. He got sick and was diagnosed with cancer. His body is slowly shutting down and he can barely work anymore. He woefully told me that this wasn’t how he planned it.

 

No, Dad, this isn’t what you planned. But this is normal. Most people don’t die sudden deaths. Their health slowly deteriorates until they cannot work and they live for quite awhile in that state. Just not retiring really isn’t a realistic option or a reality-based plan.

 

(And even if you were able to work up to the day you died and never retire, what about your spouse? What will your widow(er) live off of in old age?)

 

Can’t You Just Put Off Retirement?

A lot of people say they’ll just retire older if they haven’t saved up enough by the traditional retirement age. Thirty-eight percent of workers say they won’t retire until they are 70 or older.

 

That sounds like a good idea for someone that doesn’t have savings to live off of, but if you look at current retirees, only 4% of them were able to work that long. Putting off retirement isn’t always possible. Only 9% of workers say they will retire before age 60, but 39% of retirees left the workforce before then. This graph shows the difference between workers’ expectations and retirees’ reality.

 

 

Does that really apply to pastoring, though? It’s not a very physical job. I’ve seen people preach from stools because they lacked the strength to stand through a sermon. I know men in their eighties who still travel and preach. With modern technology, you could probably even preach a sermon from a hospital bed.

 

That’s all true, but do you think you could study and prepare a sermon while weak and vomiting from chemotherapy treatments? What about things like counseling and running the church? Being a pastor doesn’t require you to be able to lift 50 lbs. or run a mile, but it does require a certain level of physical stamina.

 

In 2017, there were 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s dementia. One in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. A pastor might not need her body to be fully functioning, but she definitely needs her mind.

 

Even if you have perfect health and a sound mind, you could still be forced into retirement earlier than planned. Of those who retire early, 14% do so in order to care for a spouse or other family member.

 

What Should You Do?

I’m sorry this is kind of a depressing post. I wish I could only write about happy stuff, but I’ll bet the prophet Jeremiah felt the same way. You need to know what to expect so you can prepare for it. This is what you should do:

 

Save For Retirement

Pretty obvious, but you should make sure you’re not only saving, but saving enough. If you’re looking for ways to save more you can read my post about how to cut expenses. If you want quick ideas for earning extra money, read this post and this one. In the coming month, I will also be posting about more long-term side businesses that you can work around your ministry.

 

If you don’t have a retirement plan through your church, you should save in an IRA. Read about what kind of IRA to use and what to do if an IRA isn’t enough. If your church offers a 403(b), you may be eligible to make extra contributions.

 

A Certified Financial Planner can help you determine how much you need to be saving. They have software that can run different scenarios based on retirement age, different lengths of retirement, etc. There are a number of them that will do one-time meetings with you even if you have no assets to invest with them. Make sure whoever you talk to is getting paid for their advice and not a commission to sell you a product.

 

Expect This In Your Congregation

The statistics I cited above are not unique to pastors. The older members of your congregation will be going through the exact same things. As a pastor you will have to help people with all of the issues that come with it, from depression from being forced out of a beloved job to basic financial need.

 

Warn The Next Generation

When I first started this blog, one of my beloved Bible college professors commented, “Where were you 30 years ago?” While I was probably in my backyard playing My Little Ponies with my sister, what he meant was, “Why didn’t anyone tell me this stuff when I was young and could do more about it?”

 

So many people wish they had taken retirement saving more seriously in their 20’s and 30’s when they would have benefited most from compounding interest. Especially pastors who opted out of Social Security and face retirement without a safety net. You probably have younger pastors in your life that you are mentoring or who work under you. Warn them now so that they won’t have a retirement crisis of their own in 30 years.

 

For those of you who have retired or are nearing retirement, you can start right now by telling us about your experience in the comments. What have you done and what do you wish you had done differently? What advice would you give someone 20 or 30 years younger than you?