The Alliance of Baptists supports the valuable ministries of our clergy in many ways. Among the most tangible reasons clergy connect with the Alliance are the benefits we make available through our partnership with the Ministers and Missionaries Benefits Board (MMBB).
Recognized Clergy and Endorsed Ministers of the Alliance of Baptsts as well as all employess of Alliance-affiliated congregations are elligible to participate in any and all MMBB plans.
The Alliance of Baptists first made benefits available in the millennial year 2000 through partnership with The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (MMBB). By doing so the Alliance became the first denominational body outside the American Baptist Churches USA to offer benefits through MMBB. The Alliance vision forged a path that has since been followed by nearly a dozen other groups, increasing the financial security of thousands of church workers and family members.
As Stan Hastey former Executive Director of the Alliance of Baptists states, “I simply cannot say how grateful I am to The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board for providing me with that sense of security and personal freedom as I look forward to my own retirement, which gives adequate attention both to my own need to continue developing my mind and attending to the needs of my wife, Betty.” The same benefits that have undergirded Stan’s leadership in the Alliance are available to support you and your ministry through the Alliance’s partnership with MMBB.
For more information, see FAQ, visit MMBB on the web, or call MMBB at 800.986.6222.
These benefits increase peace of mind for members and their families as they increase financial security.
The Benefits for Life program provides pre-retirement disability and life insurance protections while it builds income for the retirement years. Plan disability benefits include monthly income, child allowances and retirement contributions. The plan will also continue previously employer-paid health coverage for eligible members. Death benefits include a lump sum multiple of annual pay, child allowances and lifetime spousal income. The plan will also continue health benefits for up to two years for eligible members. In retirement, Benefits for Life offers you a range of lifetime income options.
MMBB also offers an employer-paid retirement plan, the Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) and The Annuity Supplement (TAS) which accepts tax-deferred member savings and rollovers. Health plans are available for eligible members who are receiving contributions to the Benefits for Life or TDA accounts, as well as for their family members.
Too often, church workers who are able to retire watch the buying power of their incomes shrink over the years. Too often, survivors find that any benefits just don’t last. This not only creates hardships for them, but guilt and shame for the communities they have served.
In contrast, MMBB retirement income is designed to help them keep up. Retirement benefits are adjusted each year for investment experience with upside potential and limits on how much income can go down in a given year. Disability and survivor benefits are adjusted with increases in the Cost of Living.
When churches provide a retirement program, they enable pastors to remain effective throughout their careers and to retire with choices for their remaining decades. Churches that provide Benefits for Life are prepared to care for a member who becomes disabled as defined under the plan, and his or her family, freeing the resources to hire an interim or replacement pastor. They also have benefits to provide for the survivors of a member who dies before retirement.
MMBB benefits are available to Alliance-endorsed chaplains, pastoral counselors and Recognized Clergy serving as ministers in any institutional or ecclesial setting. Generally these individuals are treated as “employees” for federal income tax purposes. The church or church-related employer issues an IRS W-2 to report the employee’s wages.
However, legislation passed several years ago would allow clergy to participate in MMBB benefits if they are engaged in ministry even if they are treated as “self-employed” for federal income tax purposes and their employers use IRS Form 1099-Misc to report their wages. Further, the legislation liberalized eligibility to include clergy classified as “employees” for federal tax purposes and serving other denominations—“wandering ministers.”
Wandering ministers are (1) self-employed clergy engaged in ministry within or outside their denomination or (2) clergy engaged in ministry and treated as “employees” for federal income taxes in settings outside their denomination. They can be employed by a not-for-profit organization, a for-profit organization or a governmental unit.
They must be (1) engaged in ministry and (2) have been ordained as ministers by an ABCUSA or MMBB-affiliated group church including the Alliance, or ordained by a non-ABCUSA or non-MMBB-affiliated group church, but their ministerial standing is recognized by ABCUSA or the MMBB-affiliated group.
