Retirees, Planning & Ongoing Education

We are here to help. Below you will find much of the information you need to navigate your ACC retirement plan. If you need further assistance, please reach out to the Retirement & Group Benefits Administrator for the American Conference of Cantors at 847-781-7800 or via email: retirement@accantors.org

Education Through Fidelity

Make a Plan with One-on-One Financial & Retirement Planning Consultations with Stephen Maloney, Workplace Financial Consultant.

Thinking of retiring?

Retiring mid-year?

Contact the ACC Office. Especially if you have not reached age 65 and wish to take distributions and parsonage as a retiree from the plan this year. You will need to fill out certain paperwork with Fidelity and set up a direct deposit account for your distributions.

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.

When can I retire and take distributions?

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.

Requesting Parsonage or Housing Allowance in Retirement

The Retirement Board of Trustees votes on the parsonage (housing allowance) eligibility of all ACC and CCAR retired participants each year. 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 parsonage eligibility of distributions must be voted into the meeting minutes for the upcoming year, prior to December 31st. The ACC Retirement Board of Trustees meets in November of each year and votes on the parsonage eligibility of clergy-person.

You will need to tell Fidelity the amount of your requested parsonage or housing allowance distributions each year so your tax documentations are correct.

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.

Qualifying for Parsonage in Retirement

Please be aware that 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 other 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.

Who determines how much I can claim as a parsonage exemption?

The amount you claim as a parsonage exemption is for you and your tax accountant to determine and substantiate based on the IRS guidelines. The ACC Retirement Board of Trustees votes on the parsonage eligibility of the distributions from our plan - confirming that they were earned from an eligible employer. Again, the amount you claim as a parsonage exemption is for you and your accountant to determine and substantiate - not the ACC.

Retiring in 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 at the 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. 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.

What if my accountant is not familiar with parsonage?

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

Required Minimum Distributions (Courtesy of Fidelity)

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.

Important information from Fidelity about securing access to NetBenefits account data

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.