# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1998_S76 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 76 SYNODICAL REPORTS sional church workers identified by District Presidents, with unresolved debt problems. 12. That a part of the problem of both significant and unresolved debt is the fact that synodical salaries remain inadequate, in many areas, to allow the professional church worker to pay off legitimate educational and other debt within a reasonable pe- tiod of time. Accordingly, District Presidents should establish and implement reasonable salary guidelines for congregations within their Districts. Again, while the implementation of any such plan can be carried out through synodical District offices, the resolution of the problems associated with inadequate salary levels rests with the Synod as a whole. In conjunction with this suggestion, the Financial Aid Task Force was informed that the Human Resources Committee has an ongoing survey of salary levels within our Districts. We en- courage the completion of such survey and the inclusion in such survey of all relevant job descriptions of professional church workers within our Synod. 13. That District Presidents counsel all congregations who are con- sidering calling or employing graduates or other professional church workers where the compensation to be offered by that congregation would be below the District’s suggested guide- lines. Further, that it be understood that District Presidents are not required to sign applications for candidates where a partic- ular congregation’s compensation does not meet District salary guidelines. 14. That with respect to those men who desire to enter into the pas- toral ministry of our Synod, the relevant District interview committee inquire into an applicant’s ability to finance the total costs associated with that individuals’ seminary educa- tion, provide counseling to such individuals if personal prob- lems exist, and so inform the seminary for the latter’s contin- ued concern and involvement throughout that individual’s tenure at the seminary. 15. That with respect to congregations, they be encouraged, with sensitivity, to inquire into the debt level of all current profes- sional church workers, whether rostered or not, under their care and discuss with them how the congregation can assist the worker in addressing and resolving any debt situation. This would also apply to congregations when they extend calls or employment, in the first instance, to the professional church worker. As seen from the above suggestions, even if the Synod, its or- ganizations, Districts, and congregations set in motion both pre- ventive and remedial solutions to the problem of professional church worker indebtedness, the problem will not be permanently resolved until the church addresses the issue of adequate salary lev- els for its professional church workers. During consideration of the mandate given, two additional is- sues arose. If left unresolved, such issues, like the problems ad- dressed in this report, will lead to situations where the ministries of our Synod’s professional church workers will be adversely af- fected and could be but another cause for workers leaving their em- ployment as full time church workers of our Synod. These issues are * that some congregations are paying only for the health benefit package of the professional church worker and not paying for that worker’s dependents. The latter payments, i.e., for depen- dents, represent a substantial expenditure of monies; * that some congregations are not paying the difference between the full basis participation and the regular Concordia Retirement Plan. , Again, these are but two more examples where the professional church worker directly is having to pay for benefits, normally paid for by employers in the typical employment situation; and, where the payments by the church worker could further contribute to the mounting debt problem. These issues need to be addressed. Finally, it is the understanding of the Financial Aid Task Force that the BHE/CUS has under way a major effort to establish an en- dowment base of some $500 million to support students studying at their institutions. This is commendable and should receive enthusi- astic support throughout our Synod. The Issue: Retired Church Workers and Widowed Spouses The Facts 1. That the number of retired church workers, or their widowed spouses, who today have insufficient income to support their needs is an unknown figure. In a recent survey responded to by some 20 of our Synod’s 35 District Presidents, the District Presidents acknowledged that they did not have any idea as to the extent of this problem. 2. That there is a problem is seen from certain statistics shared with the Financial Aid Task Force by personnel from the Worker Benefit Plans (““WBP”) office of our Synod. ¢ That current retired church workers, or their widowed spouses, who have inadequate income would be under the prior synodical retirement plan known as the Pension Plan for Pastors and Teachers (“PPPT”’). * That currently, WBP has three programs to address the needs of retirees under the PPPT. These are the Supple- mental Benefits to the PPPT, the Support Benefits Program and the Special Assistance Program. Currently, the combi- nation of these three programs would provide income up to $7,200 for an individual and $12,000 for a couple (with the widowed spouse receiving 40% of the total). ¢ That our Synod currently underwrites these aforementioned three programs to the level of approximately $850,000 an- nually. ¢ Further, that WBP has proposed changes that would take the level of support to $12,000 for a single person and $20,000 for a couple (with the widowed spouse receiving 60% of the total). ¢ That while these programs are available to retired church workers, or their widowed spouses, such services are nei- ther actively promoted throughout the Synod nor, as stated above, do our Synod’s District Presidents have information available to them that would allow the Districts to direct WBP personnel to retired workers, or their widowed spouses, who are in need of assistance. ¢ That the Concordia Retirement Plan, through legal con- straints, is not permitted to use any monies (surplus or oth- erwise) to assist, or subsidize the benefits available to par- ticipants under the PPPT plan. 3. That the current three programs offered by WBP provide a means for the resolution of the problem of inadequate income for retired church workers or their widowed spouses under the PPPT. 4. That, even though by the year 2020 the problem associated with the inadequate funding of retirement salaries under the PPPT should be resolved through natural attrition, additional synodical funds beyond the amount currently allotted, i.e., ap- proximately $850,000 a year (and declining), will likely be re- quired to address the needs of these retired church workers, or their widowed spouses, between now and the year 2020. Suggested Solutions Again, it is the understanding of the Financial Aid Task Force that the issue of inadequate retirement benefits for professional church workers, or their widowed spouses, pertains to the profes- sional church worker of our Synod under the PPPT. Accordingly, our recommendations follow: 1. That the President of the Synod send to all synodical con- gregations a pastoral letter that brings to the attention of the Synod both the problem identified and the necessary steps that must be taken to address the permanent resolution of this problem. 2. That the WBP should send a letter to all personnel within our Synod who are under the PPPT advising them of the three special programs referenced above. and the process by which such persons could access funds under these programs.