The Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Plan is an independent non-profit established in 2012 by working clergy, graduates of Hebrew College and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, with support from Yeshivat Maharat.  Rabbis and cantors from other seminaries have joined.  The plan is run by The Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Board, Inc., which is incorporated in the State of Delaware. The non-profit corporation is run by a volunteer board of directors. The plan is dedicated to the best interests of participants.

The retirement plan is a 403(b)(9) plan (a “church plan” in IRS language). The plan rules allow Jewish clergy from all denominations to participate. As a church plan, the plan has benefits over regular 403(b) plans, including being able to designate distributions in retirement as parsonage for its participants.

In general, each participant opens an individual account at Fidelity which holds all the participant’s investments. As a participant, you can allocate your funds directly with Fidelity and can invest in most Fidelity mutual funds (index and actively managed).  These individual, segregated accounts ensure the protection of your funds.  Participants have the option of creating accounts at Vanguard investments as well if they wish to invest in a socially responsible (SRI) fund, the Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund.

The volunteer board of directors includes (as of January 2016)

Cantor Paul Buch, Chair

Rabbi Robert Tabak, Vice-Chair

Jeremy Hockenstein, Treasurer

Rabbi Van Lanckton, Secretary

And additional board members: Jevin Eagle, Rabbi Susan Falk, Rabbi Jeff Fox, and Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips.