Photo by Brian A. Yoder Schlabach
Being a spiritual leader may present financial challenges at times, but with some good planning and attention to detail, pastors can live within their means now, and prepare for retirement in the future.
In his workshop, “Pastor finances: The now and not yet,” Kent Miller, Financial Consultant at Everence® Financial, shared tools and tips to help pastors organize their finances.
Meeting with a financial planner, utilizing a cash flow worksheet and the “three bucket approach” for retirement planning were some of the tools covered in Miller’s presentation. He also covered topics like how much is needed in retirement and how to use a housing allowance in retirement.
A former pastor, Miller said he has much experience – both in his former role and his current as a financial consultant – talking with pastors about making ends meet, some of whom might be overwhelmed when thinking about retirement.
“So many simply plan that they’ll never stop working,” he said. “I hope to see pastors with options for working because they want to and they sense a call to their work as they get older, and not because they are afraid to ‘retire.’”
While the workshop focused on credentialed leaders who have housing allowance in their current role, he welcomed anyone looking to looking to expand their knowledge on personal finances.
“Many of the things we talked about – the tools to organize finances and ways to be generous – apply to nearly anyone desiring to lean into their financial journey more completely,” he said.
Written by Sharon Hernandez.