Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
Retirement Benefits
Adopted by the 101st Annual Convention of
the Central
Conference of American Rabbis
Seattle, Washington, June
1990
Background
The Central
Conference of American Rabbis greatly appreciates the achievements of
the Rabbinical Pension Board in
promoting more adequate pensions for the Reform rabbinate,
and it urges all of the constituent Reform
agencies to become full partners in this effort. We also commend the
efforts of the Rabbinical Pension Board and the Spouse
Support Group to alert members of the CCAR
to their responsibilities in planning
for their financial future, and we call upon both To continue
and expand such
activities.
Despite these achievements,
however, we are increasingly concerned over reports of
financial difficulties confronting some of
our retired colleagues and widows. In
fact, just recently the CCAR Committee on Justice and Peace has
called upon us to
deal with this
situation in the interests of “justice” to the disadvantaged among
our ranks.
As the numbers of rabbinical
retirees and widows grow, we believe that, for a variety
of reasons, various needs will increase. The
efforts here of the Relief and Subvention
Committee and the activities of NAORRR have already been
extremely helpful, but there remains a major circumstance that has not
yet been addressed by our movement.
That is the situation of those who retired on what then was
considered an adequate
income but
which, as a result of continuing inflation and extended longevity, is
scarcely so today.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the CCAR take
the initiative and enlist the cooperation
of the UAHC, HUC-JIR, RPB, and other constituent agencies in a
common effort to undertake
the
following without delay:
1.
Producing a definitive study of the prevailing financial situation of
rabbinical
retirees and widows,
looking toward an assessment of the extent of existing problems
and needs;
2. Making a study of estimated pensions for rabbis
between the ages of 55-65 in the
light of projected inflation and longevity, looking toward
uncovering areas of potential
financial difficulty for those approaching retirement;
3. Publicizing the needs in the
various Reform Jewish media as the information becomes
available;
4. Instituting an interim program designed to provide immediate
assistance to rabbis
and widows in
serious need of cost-of-living adjustments, and looking toward the
development of appropriate
mechanisms to provide for longer term solutions as needed;
5. Insisting that retirement
contracts provide all rabbis and spouses with reasonable
cost-of-living adjustments, adequate health
insurance benefits, and reimbursement
of expenses for attending at least one convention annually.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
1. We urge the Rabbinical Placement
Board to consider the imposition of sanctions
against those congregations and organizations that
do not provide retirement benefits
in accordance with the movement’s guidelines:
2. We urge the CCAR, in coordination with
the UAHC, HUC-JIR, and RPB, to explore and
recommend specific funding sources to insure adequate
retirements for all rabbinic
retirees.