{"id":24558,"date":"2024-10-24T05:08:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T05:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=24558"},"modified":"2024-10-24T20:17:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T20:17:25","slug":"pastors-housing-equity-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2024\/pastors-housing-equity-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastors\u2019 Housing Equity Fund is coming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The newly revised pastors\u2019 Housing Equity Fund now offers a tax-friendly option for those ministers living in parsonages who wish to build equity toward a future home purchase. Significant revisions to the fund\u2019s structure were approved by the 2024 Annual Conference and have resulted in the creation of this new investment fund option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the former fund had unfavorable tax consequences for those invested monies donated by congregations, the soon-to-be-arriving fund offers more desirable options that are now managed by Eder Financial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All congregations are urged to contribute 1 percent of the parsonage\u2019s fair market\/sale value to the Housing Equity Fund. Future contributions should be pre-tax contributions in order to take full advantage of the housing allowance, which can only be accessed from a church retirement plan like the Eder Retirement Plan. Pastors will be able to request access to these pre-tax funds tax-free before age 59 and a half, when they leave the parsonage in order to purchase a home. After that age, pastors may access their Housing Equity Fund balances for any reason but distributions potentially will be eligible for the housing allowance exclusion only if used for housing-related expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastors who already have an existing Housing Equity Fund account with Praxis Mutual Funds now have a choice regarding whether to move these accounts to the Eder Retirement Plan, where they would be held in a separate post-tax fund. If the pastor leaves the existing funds in the current mutual fund account, they will continue to pay taxes on those funds annually and those funds will not be eligible for housing allowance treatment. It is anticipated that moving existing Praxis funds over to the Eder Retirement Plan will be possible in early November, with new contributions being accepted starting on Jan. 1, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to move their account, <\/strong>pastors with existing Housing Equity Fund accounts should first contact Ed Woolf, Church of the Brethren treasurer, at ewoolf@brethren.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For other general Housing Equity Fund questions, <\/strong>contact Russ Chrusciel, Retirement Benefits director for Eder Financial, at RChrusciel@eder.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Contributors to this report include Russ Chrusciel and Lynnae Rodeffer of Eder Financial, Ed Woolf and Nancy Sollenberger Heishman of the Church of the Brethren staff, and Bob McMinn of the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find more Church of the Brethren news:<\/p>\n\n\n