Pension Provisions for Rabbinic Retirees and their Spouses

Background

Many living rabbis or their spouses, did not participate in the current UAHC/CCAR Rabbinical Pension Plan, having entered and served in the rabbinate before the Plan was established or enhanced to its present standard.

Many UAHC congregations, upon the retirement of their rabbis, have arranged supplements, either in direct payments or in the deposit of funds in the rabbi's pension account prior to retirement, in order to make up for the shortage. However, there are still some rabbis in retirement, and even a few not yet retired, whose retirement income is not adequate. There are spouses of rabbis whose income is clearly inadequate. Inflation has further diminished the real value of pensions to our rabbis and their widows.

THEREFORE, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations calls upon all our synagogues to review the retirement circumstances of their rabbis, retired rabbis and their surviving spouses or domestic partners, with the goal of providing for them in their older years.