Annual collection will benefit elderly sisters, brothers, priests in religious orders throughout United States

Friday, Jul. 29, 2016

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Aug. 6-7 in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Now in its 29th year, the appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) and offers support for senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose communities lack sufficient retirement funding. Nearly 33,000 women and men religious past age 70 benefit.

The Diocese of Salt Lake City contributed $41,694.79 to the last collection. In 2016, the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Holladay received financial assistance made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious. Women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may also benefit from the annual collection. 

The 2015 appeal raised $30.7 million, marking the sixth time in the collection’s history that donations exceeded $30 million. 

As a result, the NRRO distributed $25 million in monetary support to 401 religious communities. Throughout the year, additional funding will be allocated for communities with the greatest needs and for retirement planning and educational resources. Roughly 95 cents of every dollar directly aids elderly religious; the remainder is used for administration and promotion of the appeal. 

“Words cannot express our gratitude for the love, sacrifice and generosity these donations represent,” said Sister Susan Schorsten, a member of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary who was recently appointed as the interim executive director of the NRRO. 

Although the response to the collection is unprecedented, so is the need. Distributions from the 2015 appeal amounted to roughly $1,338 per eligible member of a religious congregation. According to NRRO data, however, the average annual cost of care for senior religious is $41,214 per person. Skilled care can reach more than $63,000 per person. In 2016, 68 percent of the religious communities providing data to the NRRO had a median age of 70 or older. Accompanying the higher median age is a decrease in the number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry, which further reduces the income available for elder care. 

The U.S. bishops initiated the annual collection in response to the significant lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. Most senior religious worked for years for small stipends and did not receive retirement benefits. Today, hundreds of religious communities lack sufficient retirement savings. 

Annual distributions from the Retirement Fund for Religious provide supplemental assistance to help meet such day-to-day needs as prescription medications and nursing care. Collection proceeds also enable the NRRO to furnish education and resources that help religious communities stretch retirement dollars and plan for future needs. 

For information, visit www.retiredreligious.org.

(Courtesy of Retirement Fund for Religious.)