[1]DALLAS (BP)–A contribution to the Adopt An Annuitant program, in the amount of $12,000, was presented to the Annuity Board March 3 by representatives of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
Casey Perry, SBTC minister of church relations and pastoral care director, and his associate, Deron Biles, presented the check to Annuity Board President O.S. Hawkins during a morning chapel service at the board’s offices in Dallas.
The Annuity Board’s Adopt An Annuitant ministry helps provide financial support to retired Southern Baptist ministers, workers and their widows whose income is insufficient to meet their needs. The ministry is supported in large part by donations from individuals, churches and groups like the SBTC as well as an allocation from the Cooperative Program.
During the chapel service, Perry shared how he became enrolled in the Annuity Board’s Church Annuity Plan many years ago.
“I have served in churches from New Mexico to North Dakota, but I became enrolled in the retirement plan while I was serving simultaneously as pastor of a small Kansas church and the church’s mission,” Perry said.
[2]“A local man who was not a member of my church asked me one day if I was in the retirement program. I said that I was not, and he offered to pay the $35 required at the time to start a retirement account with the Annuity Board,” Perry recounted.
“I am grateful for the foresight of that man because today I am drawing from my Annuity Board retirement account and, just as that man long ago urged me to enroll, today the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is encouraging member churches to provide an Annuity Board retirement plan for their ministers, staff members and support staff,” Perry said.
The state Baptist conventions in cooperation with the Annuity Board provide ministers and eligible church employees opportunities to prepare for retirement through the Church Annuity Plan. All ministers and other eligible church employees receive ancillary benefits through the Protection Section of the Church Annuity Plan. These ancillary benefits include a survivor benefit up to $100,000 and a disability benefit up to $500 per month.
To receive a free video and other important information about the Adopt An Annuitant ministry, call 1-800-262-0511 or send an e-mail to [email protected] [3].
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