Retirement Fund for Religious

  The Retirement Fund for Religious helps
religious communities care for senior members—today and tomorrow.

The appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious  will be held Dec. 7 – 8 in the Diocese of Camden. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), the parish-based appeal benefits some 32,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and priests in religious orders.

Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the collection in 1988 to help address the deficit in retirement savings among the nation’s religious congregations. Proceeds are distributed to eligible congregations to help underwrite retirement and health-care expenses. Roughly 94 percent of donations aid elderly religious.
“We continue to be amazed and grateful for the outpouring of support for senior religious and their communities,” said Presentation Sister Stephanie Still, the NRRO’s executive director.
The 2016 appeal raised more than $30 million. The NRRO distributed $25 million in financial assistance to 390 religious communities across the country. Religious communities combine this funding with their own income and savings to meet a host of eldercare needs, including medications and nursing care. Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated to provide expanded assistance to religious communities with significant retirement-funding deficits. A portion of the proceeds also supports education in retirement planning and eldercare delivery.

The Diocese of Camden contributed $201,158.17 to the last collection. In 2016, the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus and the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception received financial assistance made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. Women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may also benefit from the annual appeal.

While support from the Retirement Fund for Religious has helped many religious communities to stabilize retirement accounts, hundreds of others continue to lack sufficient resources to fully provide for older members. Most senior religious worked for little to no pay, leaving their religious communities with inadequate retirement savings. At the same time, religious communities are challenged by the rising cost of care. Last year, the average annual cost of care for senior religious was $42,000 per person, while skilled care averaged more than $63,000, according to NRRO data. In 2016, the total cost of care for women and men religious past age 70 exceeded $1.2 billion.
Proceeds from the collection underwrite financial assistance, educational programming and hands-on consultation that help religious communities reduce funding deficits, enhance eldercare and plan for long-term needs. “Our goal is to help religious communities meet today’s retirement needs while preparing for the ones to come—so that religious young and old can continue to serve the People of God,” said Sister Still. (INFO FROM USCCB MEDIA RELATIONS)
More information is available at www.retiredreligious.org.

Retired Fund for Religious website

Retirement Fund for Religious Collection Dec. 8, 2013

Annual Collection Helps Religious Communities Address Retirement Shortfall

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held December 7-8 in the Diocese of Camden. Now in its 26th year, the collection is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, D.C., and benefits over 34,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests.

Last year, the Diocese of Camden contributed $130,024.79 to this collection. In 2013, the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus, Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, and the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception received financial support made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. Additionally, women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may benefit from the annual appeal.

Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the collection in 1988 to address the significant lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. Proceeds are distributed to eligible communities to help underwrite retirement and health-care expenses. Since the collection began, Catholics have contributed $698 million. Over 93 percent of donations directly support senior religious and their communities.

“I am deeply grateful to the Catholics across the nation who faithfully support the Retirement Fund for Religious,” said Precious Blood Sister Janice Bader, NRRO’s executive director. “Their generosity allows our office to provide vital financial assistance to hundreds of religious communities each year.”

The 2012 appeal raised $27 million and enabled the NRRO to distribute $23 million to 440 religious communities throughout the country. Communities utilize these funds to bolster retirement savings and to subsidize such day-to-day expenses as prescription medications and nursing care. The NRRO also allocated nearly $3.6 million to assist religious communities with the greatest needs and to promote ongoing education in retirement and elder-care delivery.

Despite the generosity to the collection, numerous religious communities struggle to provide adequate care. In the past, Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests—known collectively as women and men religious—served for small stipends that did not include retirement benefits. Their sacrifices now leave their religious communities without adequate savings for retirement. Of 548 communities submitting data to the NRRO in 2012, only eight percent were fully funded for retirement.

The rising cost of care compounds funding difficulties. Last year, the average annual cost of care for senior religious was over $38,000 per person, while skilled care averaged more than $57,000. The total cost of care for senior women and men religious was over $1.1 billion in 2012 alone.

At the same time, the number of religious needing care is on the rise. In 2012, 61 percent of the religious communities providing data to the NRRO had a median age of 75 or older. Accompanying the higher median age is a decrease in the number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry. By 2023, the NRRO projects that retired religious will outnumber wage-earning religious by four to one.

“As the number of wage-earning religious drops, so does income,” said Sister Bader. “Our mission is to help religious communities prepare for the dramatic income reduction that will accompany this demographic shift.”

Visit http://www.retiredreligious.org/

Press release from National Religious Retirement Office   3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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