Financial management doesn’t matter the size of your wallet
【Female Preacher】
Excerpts and compilation‧Photo courtesy/Zhang Jili
North America is a society that values equality the most. However, in general Chinese churches, men and women receive "unequal pay for equal work." Ordination is not only assessed based on qualifications and gifts, but also gender. This results in most welfare subsidies being excluded from female preachers (especially single women).
Many innovative ministries and organizations were initially established by sisters. Once the ministries were on track and the organizational structure was formed, the leadership was transferred to brothers. Then the argument that "women are not suitable for teaching" spread. 1
There is a female preacher with an advanced degree who once served in the United States for a long time. After middle age, she accepted a highly challenging missionary mission in the Chuangqi area. After several years, her fruitful ministry did not bring any security for her retirement in her later years. . Another female preacher was ostracized. After her dismissal, the hidden story spread was that she was talented and performed well, and posed a threat to her male colleagues who were not good pastors and lacked the gift of preaching.
Female preachers face unequal treatment, shrinking wallets and lack of security in their later years. Thanks to financial expert Brother Lin Xiu-wing for his permission, here is an excerpt of "Financial Management and Retirement Planning for Female Preachers" at "Christ Abundance Fellowship" "The content of the wonderful lecture is limited by space. Please go online to listen to the more complete content: http://www.ficfellowship.org/financeForSisters.html.
The financial and retirement plans of female missionaries vary depending on their economic background and marital status. However, according to the common needs of most people, they can be classified into the following focuses:
Should female preachers seek housing subsidies?
Designating a portion of income as Housing Allowance is often misunderstood as the exclusive preserve of pastors. In fact, female preachers should have a share, whether they are ordained, Commissioned or Licensed as preachers. a minister), are eligible for housing subsidy.
▲The "Christ Abundance Fellowship" located in California is dedicated to serving female preachers, master wives, and goddess students. It encourages and enhances the effectiveness of the sisters' ministry through regular group sharing and intercession, special gatherings, and retreats. Welcome to learn more online: (http://ficfellowship.org/index.html#.U7Vmz5R3ag4) 2
The pros and cons of getting a housing allowance
profit:The tax system allows housing allowances not to be treated as income and can be deducted when filing taxes, thus saving income tax.
Disadvantages:According to the regulations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a general employer must deduct a Social Security and Medicare Tax of 7.65% from the employee’s income, and then add an additional tax of 7.65% set by the employer. Contributed to the IRS for the employee's future retirement. As a pastoral worker, he usually does not directly participate in the social security retirement system, so the tax of 7.65% will not be deducted from his income. If a pastoral worker wants to participate, he must pay the self-employment tax (Self- Employment Tax, referred to as SE) tax form, they need to pay income tax (including housing allowance) and self-employment tax (i.e. 12.4% social security tax plus 2.9% medical insurance tax). In other words, they pay more than the average person Pay double the tax. Some churches sympathize with the heavy tax burden of their pastoral staff and will reimburse half of their staff’s self-employment tax (i.e. 7.65% tax). This is an appropriate approach for churches to care for their pastors.
When a female preacher considers the income tax saved and the self-employment tax she should pay, she will face three possible situations:
‧If your income is low, the tax rate is not high, and the rent is low (a portrayal of most single female preachers), you are usually not suitable for receiving housing subsidies.
‧If the church is willing to bear half of the self-employment tax, female preachers should receive a housing allowance.
‧If the spouse of a female preacher enjoys a high salary, even though your income is not much, once the family income increases, the tax rate will increase, and the housing subsidy will become more worth fighting for.
In addition, regarding retirement benefits: If a female preacher or spouse has worked for ten years or more, they will have a total of 40 credits (Credit). When you are 65 years old, you will definitely have Medicare and Social Security pensions. Therefore, within the two-year period when you serve as a preacher, you should consider not participating in the Social Security pension (opt-out). This is just your choice as a preacher now. It does not mean that you have to give up the taxes you have paid or that you will not be able to participate in the future. , this saves income tax and does not pay self-employment tax. Of course, you must strive for housing subsidies.
Handle Ministry Expenses Wisely
It is best if the church has a "reimbursement plan" arrangement for the expenses incurred by preachers for their ministry; actual reimbursement will not be counted as income. Otherwise, the church should deduct the advance expenses from the salary and reimburse them based on actual receipts. This reduces the income tax plus self-employment tax on this portion.
▲At the beginning of the 20th century, sisters in both the American and Chinese churches had a lot of room for service. They could also serve according to their callings and gifts according to biblical teachings in order to build up the body of Christ and promote the kingdom of God. However, when Chinese churches emerged in North America, the space for sisters to serve has shrunk a lot. In particular, they have encountered many obstacles in their participation in preaching, teaching, and leadership. What is the problem? Worth pondering. 3
Join a church retirement plan
Try to participate in a qualified retirement plan (Qualified Retirement Plan) of the existing church or the same denomination. First of all, this is to prepare for the future by deferring taxes; secondly, it is to take advantage of the tax system’s benefits for pastors: this part does not need to pay self-employment tax and has the benefit of double taxation, which must be fought for.
Insurance related
1. Life insurance:If there is no family member who relies on you for care, a single female preacher does not need to consider purchasing insurance; if she has a spouse, and the spouse is the main source of income, she must have adequate life insurance.
2. Long-term care:When you are old, your health is poor, you are unable to take care of yourself, and you have to pay someone to take care of you, if you are over 65 years old and your assets do not exceed US$2,000 (excluding your home and a car), you can apply for a White House in California. Card, you can enjoy long-term care benefits. If a middle-class family has assets between US$500,000 and US$2 million and wants to preserve them for future generations, they must consider purchasing long-term care insurance, and the most suitable age for insuring is around the age of fifty.
3. Health insurance:The church generally provides it, and you have Medicare until you are 65 years old.
Proper handling of inheritance
The assets of today are the legacy of the future. At the very least, everyone should make a will to write down how your assets will be handled in the future. If you have real estate, you also need to set up a living trust, including: first, who will be the trustee; second, who are the beneficiaries of the inheritance, and the method of inheritance distribution; third, the ownership of the real estate must be The deed is transferred to the trust. Proper handling before death can avoid complicated legal procedures and expenses in the future.
Financial management does not care about the size of the wallet, but how much knowledge you and I have about financial management? In addition to practicing a godly life of faith, female preachers should also plan their future retirement wisely to avoid the realistic dilemma of "if you don't manage your money today, your money will ignore you tomorrow." 4
Note
1. Leung Jialin, "Chinese Preaching and Revival Evangelists" (Hong Kong: Kin Tao Theological Seminary, 1999), page 144.
2. Qiu Qingping, "Rethinking the Role of Chinese Female Pastors in North America", see URL: http://ficfellowship.org/the-role-of-female-pastors.html#.U7VqrJR3ag5.
3. Same as above.
4. This article and the article "Prepare for a rainy day and welcome the golden years with peace of mind" were kindly thanked to Brother Lin Xiu Rong for reviewing.
The organizer of the profile is Pastor Zhang Jili. He has been pastoring in the United States and Canada for more than ten years and loves reading and classical music.