This page of Frequently Asked Questions answers many questions for those who already have a basic idea about RCRP and want more details. One of our officers prepared answers to more introductory questions for those wanting responses to basic concerns such as "Why save for retirement?", "How do I save for retirement?", "What is parsonage/housing allowance?" and "What is a ‘church plan’ like RCRP?" As a "first step," we suggest downloading our Retirement Planning For Rabbis and Cantors FAQ, created by RCRP Board member Rabbi Robert Tabak.
Please note – All responses to the FAQs below and the Retirement Planning For Rabbis and Cantors FAQ are presented as general educational information. For specific tax or legal advice, consult your personal advisor. Specific investment counseling is available from Fidelity representatives, and is available to all participants in the Plan.
Through participation in a qualified clergy retirement plan such as the RCRP, clergy are eligible to receive disbursements from their accounts in retirement as a housing allowance (parsonage). They also have the flexibility to designate larger yearly contributions to the Plan than if they were contributing to a Traditional IRA.
The Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Plan offers access to low-cost index funds available through Fidelity, no required membership in a specific rabbinical or cantorial association, control of your own investment decisions, and it’s run by a non-profit organization, dedicated to the best interest of plan participants.
The Plan is run by a non-profit corporation, The Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Board, Inc. that is overseen by a volunteer board of directors, as detailed in About the Plan.
The 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 advantages over regular 403(b) plans, including being able to designate distributions in retirement as housing allowance (parsonage) for its participants in accordance with IRS regulations.
The last revision of this website was posted February 9, 2020. Subsequent minor updates are made periodically.
There is no "RCRP investment" determined by the Plan. As a participant, you can allocate your funds directly with Fidelity. You can hold multiple funds at Fidelity and Calvert.
With advice from the RCRP investment committee and Fidelity, RCRP reorganized mutual funds in January 2019 to make choices easier. The major innovation is re-organizing the almost 200 mutual funds offered by Fidelity into four tiers for fund choices. (That term is not used on Fidelity platforms, but it is helpful to understand the options.) This will simplify choices for most RCRP participants. More details are included in our February 2019 Update to Participants.
Tier 1 ("ONE-FUND TARGET YEAR") is a group of Target Date Funds (a balance of stocks and bonds) based on your estimated retirement year. This could be your one-fund investment choice.
Tier 2 is a short list of low-cost funds, listed under "CORE FUND" for those who prefer to choose their own investments, It includes four Fidelity mutual funds and four Calvert Socially Responsible Investment mutual funds. .Our investment committee believes that RCRP participants can manage their retirement accounts with good options using Tier 1 or Tier 2 choices only.
Tier 3 includes over 190 more Fidelity Funds.
Tier 4 is the option to open a Fidelity brokerage account. Most RCRP participants will not need to use Tier 3 or Tier 4, though they are an option.
Please note that RCRP cannot give individual tax or investment advice.
In addition to the target date funds (Tier 1), Tier 2 includes under "CORE FUND" four low cost mutual funds: US stock (Fidelity Total Market Index), international stock (Fidelity Total International Index), and two US bond funds(Fidelity Inflation Protected Bond Index and Fidelity US Bond Index). It also includes a money market fund. Over 190 additional Fidelity funds are available in Tier 3 ("Expanded Options").
Fidelity Investment Options Guide
Participants can always get the most up to date investment information by logging into www.netbenefits.com and going to the investment section.
Included in Tier 2 on the Fidelity platform ("Core Funds") are four low-cost SRI funds from Calvert funds, a well-known company in the fields of socially responsible investing and use of environmental, social impact, and governance (ESG) criteria. There is a SRI US stock (equity) fund, Calvert US Large Cap Core Responsible Index I; a SRI international fund, Calvert International Responsible Index I; a SRI bond fund, Calvert Green Bond I; and a SRI balanced fund, Calvert Balanced I. Investors preferring to use social screening criteria should be able to manage their retirement accounts with good options using these four funds.
Fidelity has also begun several new ESG funds, with differing selection criteria, which are available through Tier 3 ("Expanded Options.") More information from Fidelity is available here.
The RCRP currently incurs administrative expenses of about $25K per year, including legal expenses and liability insurance. To cover these costs, the Plan collects modest annual fees from each participant, scaled to the amount invested as follows (as of July 2021):
| Asset Amount | Regular Fees | Reduced Fees |
| Under $10K | $18 | $0 |
| $10K – $49,999 | $72 | $36 |
| $50K – $99,999 | $140 | $70 |
| $100K – $249,999 | $200 | $100 |
| $250K – $349,999 | $300 | (n/a) |
| $350K - $499,999 | $400 | (n/a) |
| $500K - $999,999 | $500 | (n/a) |
| >$1 million | $700 | (n/a) |
"Reduced Fees" are assessed to Plan participants who are members of organizations that pay annual dues to support the Plan.
The current supporting organizations are:
Participant members of these organizations pay a reduced portion of the regular fees once the participant’s account reaches $10K in assets. No fees are assessed by the RCRP until the account reaches that level. Note that Reduced Fees apply only while a participant's account balance is under $250,000. Fidelity also assesses a fee of $20 annually, which is deducted directly from each participant's account.
This schedule compares favorably with other clergy retirement plans. In addition to annual fees, all mutual funds available through our vendors have additional underlying costs and fees. Please consult Fidelity for further information on costs and fees for specific funds.
Yes, but be aware that the parsonage benefit in retirement applies only to funds invested in other retirement plans that were earned while engaged in your rabbinate or cantorate. (See the question on "exercise of ministry" below.)
No, there is not. However, rules regarding transfers are more complex since 2015 due to a court decision affecting the IRS regulations. We recommend consulting a tax professional for advice.
In general, we are aware of these points.
According to the IRS, "exercise of ministry" for rabbis and cantors includes the following:
NOTE: Below is an informal summary of current IRS contribution limits, which can change annually. Please refer to IRS 403(b) Contribution Limits for further details (including limits for current year-end contributions).
For 2024, the contribution limit has been raised to $23,000 for those under 50 years old. Individuals who are 50 and older can save an extra $7,500 in catch-up contributions, bringing their employee contribution limit to $30,500.
If you are making contributions to a Roth 403(b), your contribution limit is the same as for those with traditional 403(b) plans. Keep in mind that if you contribute to both types of plans in the same year, your contribution limit carries across accounts. In other words, in 2024 you could put away up to $23,000 total across your Roth and traditional 403(b) accounts (if you don't qualify for catch-up contributions).
In addition to contributions withheld from your pay, your employer (or, if you don’t work for a synagogue, yourself) can contribute additional amounts to the plan.
For 2024 the total annual contribution limit to the Plan (set by the IRS) is $69,000 (or 100% of your compensation, not including any parsonage/housing allowance), whichever is lower, and $73,500 if you will be 50 years old or older as of December 31, 2024.
Details at: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits
https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/403b-contribution-limits
The total contribution limits set forth above are for funds contributed to all qualified plans (not just this Plan). If you are contributing (or your employer is contributing) to another plan, you can still join the Plan but the total global contributions cannot exceed the relevant number above.
It depends on where you work:
Not at this time. Under the rules established by the IRS and affirmed by decisions of the Federal courts, only those duly ordained as rabbis and cantors are eligible to be considered as "ministers of the Gospel" for purposes of the tax code, and eligible to receive a housing allowance/parsonage designation.
The RCRP board has determined that a Maharat is the equivalent of a rabbi or cantor for purposes of participation in the Fund. See list of eligible ordinations/graduations.
Contact our office well in advance. Requests for designating parsonage/housing allowance must be made in advance, normally by November 1 in the prior year. Fidelity will report as housing allowance any properly designated withdrawals in an annual statement. Please complete this form to request that your distributions be designated as parsonage.
Yes. Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, are mandatory, minimum yearly withdrawals. The age to start taking RMDs increased to age 73 in 2023 and will increase to 75 in 2033. In addition, if you are over age 70 and were required to take RMDs in 2023, you need to continue to do so in 2024.
If you are subject to an RMD, there generally is a minimum amount you are required to withdraw in order to avoid severe penalties.However, you can withdraw more than the RMD amount. These funds can be withdrawn as housing allowance provided you submitted the required request forms (see FAQ 19) as per our policy by the end of the previous calendar year.
Please note that RCRP funds are 403(b) accounts. For RMD purposes, you cannot combine 403(b)s and IRAs; you must take RMDs from each category separately.
Starting in 2024, RMDs will no longer be required from Roth accounts (such as RCRP Roth accounts) in employer retirement plans.
This is a brief summary of complex rules. Fidelity can help you calculate your RMD each year.
Learn more here: Fidelity can help you calculate your RMD
Also check the Internal Revenue Service’s FAQs
21. Should I expect to receive any tax forms or documents from Fidelity related to disbursements from my account?
Yes. Assuming you have reached and have requested and received disbursements from your RCRP account, you should expect to receive a notice from Fidelity that a 1099R form is available to download from your Fidelity account or NetBenefits webpage or received one by mail. This form should indicate the total amount withdrawn during the previous tax year. Please note however, that where the form customarily indicates the "taxable amount" of the distribution, it will likely say "unknown" or similar.
This is because Fidelity does not have any means to determine whether the amount received qualifies as "housing allowance" as it is defined by law and the tax code. It is each participant’s responsibility to determine that the proceeds that they received meets the standards that permit the distribution to be considered not subject to Federal income tax*. Please consult your tax preparer or accountant to assure your Federal tax return is in compliance. Careful planning and making sure to request "housing allowance" distributions in retirement in November of the year prior to receiving them by filing this request form will help assure that the amounts you receive from your account will meet the requirements so that they are not subject to Federal taxation. Any distribution from your account that does not meet the requirements to be considered as "housing allowance" is subject to Federal income tax and would need to be declared as income when filing your tax return.
*Please refer to Retirement Planning For Rabbis and Cantors FAQ
No. The PBGC provides protection only for pensions that are offered by employers as defined benefit pensions [e.g., 2% of salary for each year of employment will be paid in a pension upon retirement]. This Plan is a defined contribution plan. No insurance is available for such plans, nor is any required. Your fund at Fidelity is your own fund and is as safe (or at risk) as the fund of anyone else invested at this major mutual fund company.
There are no specific provisions in the new legislation that affect clergy or those employed by religiously affiliated institutions. Whatever impact a rabbi or cantor experiences will likely be the same that other taxpayers experience.
There are currently no active cases in the courts that threaten the existence of the 403(b)(9) plans for clergy that are the basis for the plan we offer. There was a challenge that had reached the Federal Court of Appeals in 2018, but in 2019 the decision that sided with the plaintiffs was overturned and the litigants have chosen not to continue their appeal. The RCRP board and legal counsel will continue to monitor the situation and keep our participants informed.
See "Pension Extends Coverage to More Rabbis" in The Forward.
The New York Times has cited our Plan as an example of "How to Fix A Retirement Plan at a School or Nonprofit":
"The…Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Plan serves two purposes: It is a model for those who are unhappy with the fees and investment choices in their current plan, and it allows others to get a plan where they previously had none."
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