It seems to me that Jesus taught people where they were and that we are to do the same. So how do we teach people? Some of it is down to instruction and some of it is down to the way that we act.

It is important as we approach the changes to the Clergy Pension Scheme that we are entirely comfortable with the differences between the provision for clergy and lay workers and also the differences between provision for clergy and parishioners.

There has been a lot of discussion as we have debated the clergy scheme changes. Some of it has argued that lay workers should have the same provisions. Others have argued that clergy should suffer the same provisions as their parishioners.

Well it isn’t quite like that. We need to look deeper at what a pension really is. It is important to understand the nature of pensions and the interrelationship with stipends/salaries.

The secret for me is that hackneyed phrase “the package”.

What most people look for nowadays is not just a salary, but a set of benefits which together provide for their immediate present and for their foreseeable future. For those with a lot of foresight this includes their pension payable after their working service is over.

The balance between elements of such a package will be a personal choice. Some will look for a higher salary in the hope that they will be able to save later in life while others will look for an integrated package where the salary that they forsake builds their pension.

This idea of pension as “deferred pay” goes really well with the idea of a defined benefit scheme. It is clearly suited to those who are not keen to take vast risks in their life. It is also suitable for those who aren’t aware of such risks.

I don’t want to denigrate the financial acumen of our clergy, but it is probably true that pensions are not uppermost in their minds when they respond to God’s call to ministry. More recent appointees may well have grown up in a different financial climate. There are still thousands who have come into their profession expecting to be provided for in retirement without worry.

On the other side of the coin I feel that those of us that don’t wear the clerical collar can take risks (or not). If we don’t like the package in one situation, we can move on and rearrange our lives to fit our choices.

Although it would be tempting to suggest that our clergy should have incarnational pensions, I don’t think so.

Tim Hind
Chairman, Open Synod Group