2018 Pastoral Support Guide
Complete a separate form for each pastor appointed to the charge. All yellow boxes must have selections made from the drop-down lists in order for the formulas for pension and insurance to work.
Effective Date. This is set to default to Jan. 1, 2018.
Pastor’s Conference Relationship. Enter as show in the current Illinois Great Rivers Conference Journal-Yearbook. Select from the drop-down list. The choice made here affects later calculations. A selection must be made for the form to work correctly.
Pastor’s Appointment Status. Select from the drop-down list. Benefit eligibility is based on appointment status. In order to correctly bill for benefits, this line needs to be completed.
Line 1 Cash Compensation is the total of the amount paid directly to the pastor as cash and optional amounts authorized by the pastor as payment to qualified pension or salary reduction plans or other payments on behalf of the pastor. Not included are: payment for vouchered expense reimbursement, compensation in lieu of a parsonage, or church’s share of payments for pension and health insurance. Cash compensation is the figure used for calculating pension payments. Enter the total amount to be provided as cash payments to the pastor and as payments on behalf of the pastor. The total amount should be for the full year, even if you know your pastor will be changing on July 1. If the church elects to pay a contribution toward an individual’s health insurance, this amount should be included in line 1, Cash Compensation.
Line 2 Additional Compensation Paid To/For Pastor. Enter amounts in the blue boxes 2a through 2e. The total will be calculated on line 2.
Line 3 Total Salary and Other Compensation. This is a self-calculating total that adds line 1 and line 2.
Pastor’s Housing.Select from the drop-down list
Line 4 Housing Allowance. If the pastor provides his/her own housing, enter the amount of housing allowance the church pays in lieu of parsonage. If a parsonage is provided by the church/charge, then line 4 is left blank.
Line 5 Other housing-related allowances. Include in this line any other housing-related expenses paid by the church.
Line 6 Total Housing Allowance. This is a self-calculating total that adds lines 4 and 5.
Line 7 Health Insurance Allowance. For a full-time pastor, the 2018 health insurance allowance is $15,000. If you are a single-point charge, enter the full amount here. If you share a pastor on a multi-point charge, enter your portion of that amount here.
NOTE: Elders serving ¾ time in an appointment may also be provided a health insurance allowance but it is at the discretion of the church/charge.
Line 8 Total Compensation Including Health Insurance and Housing Allowances. This is a self-calculating total, adding lines 3, 6, and 7. This is the total that is placed on the top line of the Pastor’s Compensation Reduction Agreement for Tax Exclusion (the “green form”).
Lines 9-12. Accountable reimbursement plan. These items are not report as income to the IRS. These expenses are paid from the church budget to the pastor for reimbursement or paid to the billing party after the expense has been submitted to the treasurer by the pastor. It is permissible to shift amounts from one area to another within the total ARP budget.
Line 13. Total reimbursement plan. This is a a self-calculating total of lines 9-12.
Lines 14-16. Local church expenses. These amounts should be reported here and not included in the earlier sections of the form.
Lines 17 and 18. Pension Payments.Pension payments are only accessed to appointed clergy serving full-time, ¾ time and ½ time. It does not apply to ¼ time clergy, lay speakers, supply or assigned pastors or retired pastors.
If the assessment does not apply, leave it blank.
Line 17. Part I Pension. The calculation of Part I is based upon salary plus housing.
If assessment applies and pastor lives in a parsonage:
Full-time pastors: Line 3 x 1.25 x .06. Record your total on Line 17.
Part-time pastors: Line 3 x 1.25 x .03. Record your total on Line 17.
If assessment applies and pastor lives in their own home:
Full-time pastors: (Line 3 + Line 6) x .06. Record your total on Line 17.
Part-time pastors: (Line 3 + Line 6) x .06. Record your total on Line 17.
Line 18. Part II Pension. This calculation is based on the appointment status.
If assessment applies, then enter the following amount on line 18 based upon the status:
Full-time -- $5,700
¾ time -- $4,275
½ time -- $2,850
¼ time -- 0