Annual collection supports 34,000 retired religious

The 24th annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be taken up Dec. 10-11 in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Sponsored by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, D.C., the appeal asks Catholics to "Share in the Care" of more than 34,000 women and men religious past age 70.

Last year, the Diocese of Corpus Christi contributed $52,027.40 to this collection. In 2011, the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, Missionary Daughters of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic and the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary received a combined total of $71,108.14 in financial assistance made possible by the national appeal. Additionally, religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may also benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious.

“We are continually humbled by the generosity shown this appeal,” NRRO Executive Director Sister Janice Bader, a member of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, said. “Since the fund was launched in 1988, Catholics have donated $643 million to assist religious communities in caring for their elder members.”

As a result of the 2010 collection, which garnered $26.7 million, the NRRO was able to distribute $23 million to religious communities to help support the day-to-day care of senior members. An additional $2.7 million was allocated toward initiatives targeted for religious communities with the greatest needs. Ninety-three cents of every dollar aids elderly religious.

While the response to the collection is unprecedented, so is the need. In 2010 alone, the total cost of care for women and men religious past age 70 exceeded $1 billion dollars. Nearly 5,000 religious required skilled care. At the same time, however, religious communities strive to minimize costs. In fact, the NRRO reports that the average cost of care for religious past age 70 dropped slightly this year.
“The real challenge for many religious communities is a lack of retirement savings,” Sister Bader said. “Most senior religious worked for years for small stipends. There were no retirement plans.”

As religious continue to age, fewer members are able to serve in compensated ministry, leading to a sharp decrease in income. By 2019, NRRO data projects that retired religious will outnumber wage-earning religious by nearly four to one.
For this reason, the NRRO implemented a comprehensive initiative to provide education, consultation and financial assistance to communities that are 50 percent or more underfunded for retirement. Since this program began in 2009, 55 communities, representing some 7,000 women and men religious, have initiated targeted strategies to address their funding shortfalls.

“We’re working to ensure religious communities can care for their elder members today and tomorrow,” Sister Bader said.

For more information, visit www.retiredreligious.org.