Priest Retirement

$15 million to fund the Priest Pension Plan for our retired priests

Part of the compensation we provide our priests is the promise of a monthly stipend and health care when they retire.

This is right and just because their salary is too small for them to put much away in savings. And as a priest’s social security benefit is based on his income, it will be small.

Plus, even though a retired priest receives the same monthly stipend as an active priest, he must pay out-of-pocket for things that are provided to an active priest, such as room and board.

The retirement benefits for our retired priests are paid out of a fund called the Priest Pension Plan, which is presently not fully funded, according to a recent actuarial study.

The Archdiocese of Dubuque did a campaign in 1998 to provide funds for the Priest Pension Plan. It was so successful that the annual per priest assessment of parishes and institutions to the Priest Pension Plan was suspended.

However, with an increasing amount of money going out each year, and with no new funds coming in, the Priest Pension Plan is now underfunded.

So, in addition to including support for retired priests in ArchdioceseOne, the annual per priest assessment for the Priest Pension Plan was reinstated in 2019 in order to have a stable funding source.