Across the United States, hundreds of religious communities lack financial resources sufficient to meet the retirement and health care needs of aging members.
Of 476 communities providing data to the National Religious Retirement Office, only 27 are adequately funded for retirement. Historically, Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests – known collectively as women and men religious – received very little pay. Any surplus funds were reinvested in ministry and the education of younger members. As a result, hundreds of U.S. religious communities lack adequate retirement savings.
Like many Americans, religious communities face the monumental challenge of funding eldercare. Currently, the average annual cost of care for women and men religious past age 70 is nearly $60,000 per person. Skilled care averages $90,700. The total cost of care for senior women and men religious in the United States has exceeded $1 billion annually for each of the last 16 years.
During the early and mid-twentieth centuries, the Catholic Church in the United States experienced a surge in vocations to religious life, with numbers peaking in the mid-1960s. Care for elderly members was provided largely by younger ones. Over time, however, the number of vocations decreased while lifespans increased. The result is far fewer younger members available to support the retirement and eldercare needs of senior members. Currently, 71 percent of the religious communities providing data to the NRRO have a median age of 70 or older.
Proceeds from the annual Retirement Fund for Religious appeal enable the NRRO to distribute financial assistance to hundreds of religious communities each year.
The majority of donations are distributed as Direct Care Assistance. Direct Care Assistance is a per capita distribution based on specified criteria, including level of need. Religious communities may apply annually for these funds, which can be used to help meet immediate eldercare needs or saved for long-term retirement expenses. Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated for retirement education and other programming.
Proceeds from the Retirement Fund for Religious also underwrite educational opportunities that are designed to enhance eldercare and promote comprehensive retirement planning. Resources include video educational series on eldercare concerns, workshops, publications, online tools, and a quarterly webinar series co-sponsored by the Avila Institute of Gerontology.
The national collection dates for the Retirement Fund for Religious are Dec. 7-8. If you are unable to give to the collection during Mass, please mail your offertory envelope to your parish (write RFR on the memo line of your check). Or contribute through your parish’s online giving platform, if available.
By Mail:
Retirement Fund for Religious
National Religious Retirement Office
P.O. Box 96988
Washington, DC 20090-6988
Visit https://retiredreligious.org/ for more information.