The Brethren Church offers a participant-directed 403(b) retirement plan for pastors and employees working at least 1,000 hours per year. The plan allows both church and individual contributions to grow tax-free. When pastors retire, 100% of distributions are allocated as housing allowance and may be declared as such for income tax purposes to the extent used to cover actual housing costs.

The Retirement Fund board employs Everence Financial as fund investment advisors and PenServ Plan Services for fund administration and record-keeping. 

These changes provide several enhancements:

In contrast to other retirement plans, The Brethren Church plan offers:

• Values-based investment options: Find socially responsible fund choices that screen companies, advocate for corporate change, and invest in communities.
• Affordable costs: Benefit from lower administrative costs and lower cost investment options by participating with other congregations in a common plan.
• Housing allowance: Only church-based plans such as ours off pastors the ability to claim the housing allowance on income distributed from the plan during retirement.
• Easy-to-use investments: Explore pre-designed investment portfolios customized to your life stage or goals which require little adjustment or personal management over time.
• Sharing in community: Join a community of pastors, church staff, and employees who share plan costs together.

Through The Brethren Church retirement plan, you receive:

• Education for participating pastors and staff
• Communication with churches wanting to offer this benefit
• Better performing and lower cost mutual fund investment options
• Reminders to congregations about submitting contributions
• Ability to make employee contributions in addition to church contributions
  

The plan is administered by the Retirement Fund, Inc., of The Brethren Church. Board members elected by General Conference are:

Ronald W. Waters, President (2026)
Ken Hunn, Vice President (2025)
Ryan Gilmer, Secretary (2024)

Our plan contact in The Brethren Church National Office is Ronald W. Waters. Contact Ron with your questions and for information about joining the plan by using the form below, by phone at 419-289-1708, or by email at Retirement@BrethrenChurch.org.

The board contracts with Everence^®, a full-service financial organization serving faith communities, to provide financial consultation on investments for plan participants. To find your Everence^® financial consultant, please contact Bill Hartman at 800-494-6622 or at Bill.Hartman@everence.com. Let Bill know you are contacting him about The Brethren Church plan.

The board also contracts with PenServ Plan Services to provide recording-keeping and administration of the plan. For questions about contributions, distributions, or specifics about your account, contact the PenServ Church Support Team at 803-354-5035 or Church.Support@penserv.com. Let them know you are contacting them about The Brethren Church plan.

For tax questions or assistance, please contact your local tax professional.