Retirement Fund for Religious
Please give to those who have given a lifetime.
On the weekend of December 7 and 8, parishioners and community members in the Diocese of Portland will have the opportunity to give to those who have given a lifetime. A special collection will be held during Masses in Maine churches for the Retirement Fund for Religious. The fund benefits more than 20,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests.
Traditionally, Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests served for stipends that did not include retirement benefits. As a result, today, hundreds of religious communities are struggling to meet the retirement and health-care needs of aging members. Of 476 communities that provided data to the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), only 27 indicated they were adequately funded for retirement.
The Catholic bishops of the United States initiated the Retirement Fund for Religious in 1988. Since the launch of the collection, U.S. Catholics have donated over $900 million to the annual appeal.
Rising Costs
The average annual cost of care for women and men religious past age 70 is estimated to be 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.
Aging population
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.
How are donations spent?
Ninety-five percent of the money from the Retirement Fund for Religious annual appeal is distributed to religious communities. The majority of that is distributed as direct care assistance. NRRO also has volunteer consultants who offer practical assistance to communities on retirement planning, and it underwrites educational opportunities designed to enhance eldercare.
For more information
For more information about the collection or the NRRO, visit www.retiredreligious.org
Resources
Retirement Fund for Religious (External Site)
Read how the fund is making a difference (External Site)
Campaign Materials including web banners and social media graphics (External Site)
