Nearing Retirement

The normal retirement age in both the Retirement Plan 71280 and the Supplemental Plan 71281 is 65. You can retire in either plan at this age if you are working 30 hours or less.

From the 71280 Summary Plan Description:

"Your “Normal Retirement Date” is the first day of the month coincident with or next following the date you attain age 65 if you retire on your 65th birthday."

You can request to take an early retirement in either plan at age 59.5. From the 71280 Summary Plan Description:

"Your “Early Retirement Date” is the date you retire (before your Normal Retirement Date but after attaining age 59 ½) from full-time employment as a professional cantor or temple musician. For this purpose, “full-time” shall mean regularly scheduled to work over 30 hours per week.

If one changes employers after age 59.5, Supplemental Plan payments will automatically begin, unless a Deferral form has been submitted to the ACC 12 months or more prior to termination of one's current employer. 

Inform the Retirement Plan Administrator of your plans to retire as soon as possible at 847-781-7800 or retirement@accantors.org.

1. Prior to retiring, review your Fidelity account through NetBenefits.
   1. Are your salary deferrals and temple contributions correct and up to date?
   2. Do you have Electronic Funds Transfer set up on your account?
2. You will be retired in the Fidelity system, the day after your official retirement date.
3. Distributions:
   1. If you are 73 or older, complete the Distribution – MRD.
   2. If you are under 73 years old and wish to take out distributions, you will need to complete the Distribution – Recurring Payments form. Contact the ACC Retirement Plan Administrator for the form.

4. Contact Fidelity and advise them of how much your distribution will be parsonage and if you'll be taking withholding at this time.

    

• Retiring in the Retirement Plan 71280 Information Sheet - A go-to guide for everything related to retiring in the ACC 403(b)9 Retirement Plan.
• Retiring in the Supplemental Plan 71281 Information Sheet - A go-to guide for everything related to retiring in the ACC Supplemental Plan.
• Mandatory Distribution Form (MRD) - Use this form to request your MRD.
• Supplemental Plan Tax Document Explanation for Tax Professionals - Give this to your accountant or tax professional so they understand the W-2 tax document that you will receive if you are a member of the Supplemental Plan.

Alert the ACC Retirement Plan Administrator as soon as possible (before you retire)!

If you have a supplemental account, you will begin receiving payments upon your retirement date, unless you complete a Supplemental Distribution Election form and submit it to the ACC Retirement Plan Administrator one full year prior to your retirement date.

Unless deferred, in writing, one year in advance of your retirement date, the supplemental account is automatically paid out. All funds in the Supplemental Account are paid out over a five-year period, on a quarterly basis (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31). The payment structure of the Supplemental Plan 71281 is defined in the plan document and no exceptions are made.

Why does my Supplemental Plan 71281 W2 tax document look different than in 2020? In 2021 Fidelity began making the Supplemental Plan distributions, in place of the ACC office. They produce the W2 tax document a bit differently, you can still claim parsonage on these distributions. Do you or your accountant have questions? Read this description.

Per a change to our procedures, up to 100% of your distributions paid under the 403b9 church plan and supplemental plan can constitute a housing or rental allowance paid as part of the retired cantor’s compensation for past services, but only to the extent that the benefits are used to rent or provide a home and to the extent the allowances do not exceed the fair rental value of the home as provided in the Code.

Parsonage distributions are allowed from both the ACC Retirement Plan and the ACC Supplemental Plan.

What is an RMD? A required minimum distribution (also called an RMD or MRD) is a yearly, mandatory withdrawal from a tax-deferred retirement account, like a traditional IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) plan, which you must start taking when you reach the IRS defined age.

What is the IRS defined age at which I must start my RMD? You must take your first required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year in which you turn age 73.

What is the deadline for taking my first RMD? After reaching the appropriate age, the IRS requires you to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from a workplace saving plan by December 31 each year. However, if this is the first year you are required to take an RMD, you have the option to delay it until April 1 of the year after you reach age 73.

If you continue to work beyond age 73, you might not have to take an RMD until you retire, unless you own at least 5% of your business. If you don't own at least 5% of the business, you might be able to delay taking distributions until April 1 of the year after you retire. If you defer your first RMD until April 1, then you will receive two RMDs that year. The first RMD must be distributed by April 1 for the prior tax year, and the second RMD must be distributed by December 31, for the current tax year. Please check with your plan administrator for your plan rules and to learn when you'll need to start your distributions.

How do I get started to take my first RMD? You can opt to take one-time distributions for your RMDs year after year, but the easiest way to satisfy your RMD is by setting up automatic withdrawals. This way, you avoid the potentially costly consequences of forgetting to take your RMD. Distributions can be taken in the form of a check sent to you, or a transfer to your bank, brokerage, or cash management account. You choose when you want to receive the funds, monthly, annually, or a schedule of your choosing.

Your required minimum distribution amount is calculated by dividing your tax-deferred retirement account balance as of December 31 of the previous year by your life expectancy factor. Generally, you must start taking distributions no later than April 1 of the year after the year that you turn 72. Your plan may have additional requirements.

How are RMDs calculated? Your required minimum distribution (RMD) amount is calculated by dividing your retirement account balance as of December 31 of the previous year by your life expectancy factor, which you can find in the IRS’s Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B.

If your spouse is more than 10 years younger than you, and they will be the sole primary beneficiary for the entire distribution calendar year, you may elect to use the IRS's Joint and Last Survivor Table to calculate your RMD. This will result in a smaller RMD than with the Uniform Lifetime Table.

May I take more than my RMD in a given year? You may take more than the required minimum distribution (RMD) amount from your workplace savings plan in a given year, depending on your plan’s withdrawal provisions. If you take more than what’s required, the excess amount will not be applied toward your RMD for any subsequent year. Any amounts above the RMD calculated for you in a given year are eligible to be rolled over.

Do I have to take an RMD if I am still working? If you continue to work beyond age 73 you may be able to delay taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your workplace savings plan until April 1 after the year you retire. 

What are my options for tax withholding when I take my RMD? Federal income tax will be withheld from the taxable portion of your distribution in accordance with the IRS periodic wage withholding table and your withholding election form on file. If you have not made withholding elections, then the IRS default withholding option of married and three allowances will be used. State income tax will be withheld from the taxable portion of your distribution in accordance with your state's withholding requirements and your election.

However, if you elect not to have withholding apply to your payments, or if you do not have enough federal and/or state income tax withheld, you may be responsible for payment of estimated taxes. You may incur penalties under the estimated tax rules if your withholding and estimated tax payments are not sufficient.

Please refer to IRS Form W-4P (Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments) at irs.gov for further information.

What are my options to receive RMD payments? You can choose from 3 different options for satisfying your RMD each year. These options are:

1. You may request a withdrawal at any time, either in the full amount or a partial amount (if your plan allows) of your total RMD.

2. You may setup a scheduled payment on the recurring basis you prefer, such as, monthly, quarterly, or annually. In this case the withdrawal will be made automatically and distributed to you. The amount will be based upon the number of payments you choose to receive in a year, and the total amount of your RMD for that year, with each payment being a proportion of the total RMD.

3. If you take no action, and your retirement plan is using Fidelity’s automatic RMD payment process, then you will have your total RMD amount withdrawn and paid to you in either November or December of each year.

How will Fidelity send my RMD payment? You are able to have your RMD withdrawal sent to you through a direct payment to a bank account of your choosing (Electronic Funds Transfer, or EFT). Most find the convenience of a direct payment through Fidelity’s electronic payment service their best option. Learn how to get started here. You may also choose to have a check mailed to you.

What happens if I miss taking my RMD in a given year? If you forgot to take your required minimum distribution you may be able to receive a waiver and avoid any penalties by filing IRS Form 5329. Make sure to include an explanation for why you missed the deadline and note that you've since taken your distribution. For more information visit irs.gov.

What are the penalties if I miss a deadline for an RMD? If you do not take a required minimum distribution (RMD) by the annual deadline, it could result in an IRS excise tax equal to 50% of the amount that should have been distributed that year. Income taxes, federal and state (if applicable), will be paid on the taxable amount distributed in the year of distribution.

For example, assume that you are 74 years old, and your RMD for the year is $15,000, but you only withdrew $7,000 by December 31. You will pay income tax on $7,000 that year and potentially be penalized $4,000 [50% IRS excise tax on $8,000 ($15,000 - $7,000)] on the remaining $8,000 that was not distributed. The following year, you will be required to take that year’s RMD amount in addition to the $8,000 that wasn’t distributed in the previous year.

Must my minimum required distribution (MRD) be separate from parsonage distributions? Your MRD and parsonage distribution may be the same. The IRS requires that your take a minimum distribution but does not require that the distribution is taxable.

Parsonage may be taken from the ACC Retirement Plan, and beginning in 2018, the Supplemental Plan.
Transfers in from other pre -tax employer plans, such as a 401k or IRA are permitted but are not eligible for parsonage.
Transfers from another 403b church plan to the ACC Retirement Plan may qualify for Parsonage if the source is documented as from a congregation or other 403(b) qualified church plan.
ACC Associate Members and GTM members, though they may participate in the ACC Retirement Plan may not receive parsonage in retirement if they have not been ordained from a seminary recognized by the ACC Executive Board; the ACC Retirement Plan Board does not grant clergy status

Important Update about Securely Connecting Your Participants’ NetBenefits Accounts with Third-Party Websites and Apps
At Fidelity, we put your participants’ financial well-being above all else, which includes enhancing the protection of their NetBenefits account data. We want to inform you of measures we are taking to make participant-directed data sharing with third-party websites and apps more secure. We support your participants using third-party tools that facilitate beneficial services like peer-to-peer payments or personal finance management. But, when your participants share their NetBenefits account data with these third parties, we want to ensure they are doing so in a secure way. That is why we continue to take steps to address unsafe practices, like screen scraping, a data collection method used by some third-party websites and apps your participants have authorized, and the data aggregators they use to connect to participants’ NetBenefits account(s), to access and retrieve the participants’ NetBenefits account data. These aggregators use the username and password your participants provided them to log in to the participants’ NetBenefits accounts, which gives the aggregators the same access to their NetBenefits account data as the participant.

Last December we announced we were taking steps to address screen scraping. To enhance the protection of your participants’ NetBenefits account data, we’ve implemented a secure connection to allow access to your participants’ NetBenefits accounts by the third-party websites and apps they’ve authorized, and the data aggregators they use. Fidelity is now requiring all these third parties to transition to this secure, integrated connection to access your participants’ NetBenefits account data. Fidelity has been working with many of the industry’s data aggregators on smooth transitions to this integrated connection for years. Soon, no third party will be permitted to access NetBenefits accounts through the unsafe practice of screen scraping.

Because of this transition, users of some third-party websites and apps may experience a disruption in certain websites’ and apps’ ability to access their NetBenefits accounts. For example, as of the date of this communication, the third-party data aggregator that Venmo uses to connect to NetBenefits accounts has not begun to use our secure connection. Depending on which third-party websites and apps your participants use, participants may be unable to access some of their NetBenefits account data on that website or app or may experience a disruption in their use of that website or app. Beginning on September 18, we will be communicating to those NetBenefits users who use this third-party data aggregator that they may experience a disruption in certain websites’ and apps’ ability to access their NetBenefits account. However, there should be no impact on their ability to access their NetBenefits accounts or transact through the NetBenefits app or on NetBenefits.com using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and bank wires.

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You can ONLY claim parsonage if you are an ACTIVE member of a qualified clergy-based plan and organization, such as the ACC Retirement Plan and the ACC. If your retirement funds are NOT in a clergy-based plan, you will no longer be eligible to take parsonage once you retire from active employment with your congregation.

Furthermore, once you deplete the available funds in your ACC (or another clergy based) plan, you will no longer be able to claim parsonage. 

Please note that the title of “Emeritus/a” has no bearing on whether you can claim parsonage. It is an honorific title between you and your former congregation.

Is a retired cantor's widow/er eligible? No, the exclusion does not apply to a rental allowance paid to a retired minister’s widow/er.

The ACC Retirement Board of Trustees votes each year, prior to December 31st on the following:

• Parsonage (housing allowance) eligibility of all ACC and CCAR retired participants,
• Parsonage eligibility of the distributions from our plan - confirming that they were earned from an eligible employer. 

This vote is recorded into the meeting minutes. As a retiree, you do not need to do anything. If you are retired in the ACC plan, you will be included in the vote. 

The amount you claim as a parsonage exemption is for you and your tax accountant to determine and substantiate based on the IRS guidelines. 

This sample form may be of assistance while working with your financial advisor or CPA in determining the amount of housing allowance for which you are eligible. The ACC makes no determination of your eligible amount. Please consult your tax or financial advisor.

It is important to stress that you cannot exclude Plan benefits from taxable income simply because they have been designated as parsonage under the procedures outlined above. The parsonage designation is the first step. After a parsonage designation has been made on your behalf, you can then exclude from taxation only those benefits that have been designated as parsonage to the extent you have actual parsonage expenses, as indicated above. In this regard, it is suggested that you contact your individual tax advisor to determine exactly what you can claim as parsonage expense. 

You must contact Fidelity Investments directly at 1-800-343-0860 to initiate distributions from your account and be sure to inform the representative your distribution will be for parsonage/housing allowance. If this is your first distribution from the plan, you will need to complete a Fidelity distribution form and return the form to the Plan Administrator for plan sponsor (ACC) approval. The plan sponsor will submit the completed signed form to Fidelity for processing. You should consider establishing an ACH payment method with Fidelity so all distributions can be deposited directly to your bank account on file.

We encourage all clergy to work with an accountant that is well versed in parsonage.

Here are some important documents for retiring or retired participants to read and share with financial advisors:

• ACC Retirement Plan FAQS page, including Parsonage in Retirement FAQS.
• IRS Publication 517 Cat. No. 15021X: Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers

Parsonage Article to Share with you Financial Planner

Parsonage in Retirement - for Advisors

FAQs as of September 22, 2022

Pursuant to Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code, a “minister of the gospel” (which includes a cantor and retired cantor) may exclude from gross income:

The rental value of a home furnished to him as part of his compensation; or

The rental allowance paid to him as part of his compensation, to the extent used by him/her to rent or provide a home and to the extent such allowance does not exceed the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and such appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities.

The IRS regulation requires that the home or rental allowance be provided as remuneration for services that are ordinarily the duties of a minister of the gospel. The Tax Court has ruled that the parsonage allowance exclusion is limited to the amount used to provide the home, if that amount is lower that the fair rental value of the home. [Warren v. Commissioner, 114T.C. No 343 (2000), appeal dismissed 302F. 3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2002).] Although parsonage is not able to be included in income for federal income tax purposes, it is considered self-employment income for SECA purposes prior to retirement.

According to the IRS Revenue Ruling 63-156, the rental value of the home furnished, or the housing allowance paid to a retired minister as part of his compensation for past services is excludable from income under section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code with proper designation.

The parsonage allowance exclusion is allowed only if the allowance is officially designated as a housing allowance before it is paid. The designation must be made by the employing church or other organization. The designation may be evidenced in an employment contract, minutes of the church, etc., resolution or other official instrument such as an employer’s budget.

Where a retired cantor’s relationship with his former employer is completely severed, the designation of a portion of a clergyperson’s retirement funds in a qualified church plan as a rental allowance may be made by duly appointed retirement trustees.  Prior to the beginning of each taxable year, the ACC Retirement Plan Trustees review and vote that the distributions of each retired member are parsonage eligible. The designation, which is reflected in the minutes of the Trustees’ meeting, is intended to satisfy the IRS requirements that the allowance be officially designated. However, each cantor is responsible for determining whether the amount requested does not exceed the lesser of the fair rental value of the home or the actual cost and bears the responsibility for substantiating these costs to the IRS.

Is it possible to take parsonage from more than one source? Yes, as long as the parsonage is officially designated and the total does not exceed the allowance. Only "church plans" can designate parsonage.