Not only is Servant Solutions here to serve those individuals who serve, but also to serve the churches and organizations who employ those who serve. Our hope is to encourage each employer, no matter the size, that it is possible to honor their pastors and leaders, even if the budget is tight. We know too well the challenge of recruiting, retaining and rewarding people who will serve our congregations with excellence. We also want pastors to feel confident that their congregations value and care for them.

Many organizations assume that their current budget won’t allow for anything additional for the pastoral staff. We understand that multiple priorities competing for the budget dollars. And as a ministry grows, there may be a need to allocate even more resources. Proper compensation planning often takes a backseat to other categories that are budgeted for frontline ministries.

Perhaps your organization does not have a history of including a retirement benefit for their pastors. If your church does not provide a retirement benefit for staff, we encourage you to start helping with retirement, as most employers provide this important benefit in their compensation packages.

The first step–which is the simplest and of zero impact to the church budget–is to offer your pastor the ability to make pretax contributions to a retirement fund with his or her own money.

The only way a pastor can save with pre-tax dollars is through payroll withholding, which is an easy process to establish. First, open an employer account (if you don’t already have one) with Servant Solutions by completing the paperwork involved. Next, the pastor authorizes withholding and then the church begins sending those contributions to Servant Solutions. Please note that withholding can only happen if the pastor is a W-2 employee. We recognize that there are those out there that are on a 1099 basis for pay, but it’s important that they be transitioned to a W-2 pay payroll so that they can have money withheld. IRS guidelines clearly state that most pastors meet the “employee” requirements and should be on a W-2 employee status.

Most churches budget an annual increase for their pastors compensation (for example, their salary and housing amount). An option might be to give part of that increase to the pastor in the form of a retirement benefit. For example, if the church decides that they’re going to do a cost-of-living increase of 3%, 2% could be allocated as an increase to salary and then a 1% added to their retirement.

The long-term goal would be to offer not only a cost of living increase, but a retirement increase until one reaches a healthy savings rate of 10-15%. You can start small. Many churches will begin at 1 to 3% annually.

Another consideration is to challenge your pastors to meet an employer match percentage. If you get push back, remind your staff they can’t afford not to save, because when the church matches, it’s equivalent to a 100% return on their money.

As churches, we are called to be faithful with our dollars. Taking care of your staff in this way is good stewardship. It’s also a biblical imperative to honor and provide for our leaders. If your church signs up to become a partner with Servant Solutions, your pastor can begin enjoying the benefits of the tax withholding, and it doesn’t cost the church an extra nickel.

Blessings to you strive to take care of your pastor, even when your budget is tight.