Is the Priests’ Pension Plan sufficient to cover pension and retirement benefits for all priests, including today’s younger priests?

Yes. The Plan’s actuarial consultants, Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company, annually analyze the Plan, its assumptions, and report its findings to the Plan’s Board. The firm also calculates amounts which should be contributed to the Plan through the parish per-priest assessments, also factoring in investment market activity, as well as benefactor gifts to the Plan fund.

The present value of the accrued benefits to be paid out of the Plan is $76,210,220. As of June 30, 2018, there is $78,171,951 in net assets available to cover the total benefit obligation of the Plan.

Full funding includes the monthly pension payment, the supplemental quarterly expense allowance, as well as health, dental, transportation, professional, and other benefits, which add up to a significant portion of the Plan’s costs. When referencing full funding, most pension plans focus on cash payments and do not include benefits in their calculations.