Retirement Fund for Religious appeal December 11-12

Washington - The annual national appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be conducted in Catholic parishes on December 11-12 under the theme “Share in the Care.”

The appeal, now in its 17th year, has generated a greater response than any annual appeal in U.S. Catholic Church history. The more than $440 million that the appeal has raised helps to ensure appropriate care for almost 40,000 Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests who are now past age 70.

The crisis in unfunded retirement became evident in the early 1970s. Catholic schools, sponsored and operated primarily by religious orders, were educating more than 10 percent of the student population in the United States. Catholic hospitals were becoming the largest group of not-for-profit hospitals in the nation. But the salaries and stipends to religious were earmarked primarily for good works, new ministries, and training and education that would ensure adequate staffing and administration for ministries rather than retirement.

The care of elderly members had been ensured for generations by younger members who entered religious life. Church and diocesan pension plans did not include religious institutes, which are organized separately. Today, however, elderly religious who are retired from paid ministry far outnumber wage-earning religious. Health care costs have skyrocketed and the number of elderly religious in assisted living or nursing facilities has risen dramatically. Many religious institutes sell their motherhouses to meet retirement needs. Today, retired religious receive on average $3,874 a year in Social Security benefits. (The average individual benefit for the general population is $10,836.)

In 1988, church officials launched the Retirement Fund for Religious. The National Religious Retirement Office, which sponsors the appeal, has distributed more than 96 percent of donations as grants to religious institutes. Special grant awards are used to meet emergency needs and to fund projects aimed at cost-cutting.

The appeal, conducted by the National Religious Retirement Office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, assuages the projected $6.1 billion retirement liability of the nation’s religious orders. Ninety-five percent of donations are awarded to religious institutes through basic grants. Another three percent underwrites consultation services, workshops and presentations that address retirement issues.

Administrative and promotional costs comprise just two percent of the amount collected.

Last year the fund collected more than $28 million and provided assistance to 541 religious orders. Since 1988, donations have totaled more than $440 million. However, the cost of living for all elderly religious exceeds $885 million each year.