I recently returned from Alaska, where it’s hard not to be struck by the sheer scale of the landscape. Snow-covered mountains rise beyond the water, with another range seemingly waiting behind them. More than once, I found myself realizing what I could see at first was only one part of a much bigger picture. God’s creation is simply amazing and awe-inspiring!
Our compensation can be a little like that. When we think about what we earn, salary is usually the first thing we see. It’s the number on the paycheck, after all. But step back and take in the whole landscape, and there may be (or could be) much more there than you realized.
A well-designed compensation package includes the full range of resources your employer provides to support you today while helping you prepare for the future. Employer retirement contributions, health insurance, life and disability coverage, and access to financial planning resources can all add meaningful value beyond your base salary.
For credentialed ministers, there is another important consideration: the minister’s housing allowance. When properly designated, eligible housing expenses are excluded from federal income tax, and in most cases for state/local taxes as well. And when retirement savings are held in an eligible 403(b)(9) church plan like Servant Solutions, qualifying retired ministers can designate distributions for housing expenses in retirement. Simply put, the housing allowance can reduce the amount of income subject to the taxes stated above, helping eligible ministers keep more of what they earn.
Retirement contributions are another piece that can be easy to underestimate. If your employer contributes to your retirement account, that contribution is part of your compensation too. Even modest, consistent contributions can grow into a significant benefit over the course of a ministry career. Understanding what your employer contributes, and what you may need to contribute yourself (we recommend a combined employer/employee target of 15%), can help you make the most of that benefit.
And compensation isn’t only about the dollars that show up in your paycheck. Understanding and using the benefits and resources available to you matters as well. As a Servant Solutions member, you have access to financial planning resources, calculators, education, and our free Financial Roadmap planning tool to help you see how all the pieces fit together. Wholistic planning ensures you are not leaving gaps and living in “false priority vacuums” that can suck the life out of your financial goals.
Just as a change in perspective can reveal a much bigger picture, taking a wider look at your compensation may reveal value you haven’t fully considered.
So instead of only asking “What is my salary?”, take a moment to step back and ask, “What is the full value of my compensation, and am I making the most of it?”
Let’s discover together what God has planned for you as we plan together! There just may be more to the landscape than you thought.