Religious Groups Seek Exemptions From Pension Law

A growing number of religious groups—and charities connected with such institutions—are seeking exemptions from federal pension laws, reports The New York Times.

Religious groups have the option of following federal rules—and thereby getting the federal government to guarantee that it will pay retired workers if the organization collapses—or of getting an exemption from the rules and losing the federal guarantee. Many employees are not told about the loss of the guarantee, the newspaper said, because federal law does not require institutions to disclose when they seek an exemption from the pension rule.

For example, St. Francis Medical Center, in Lawrenceville, Pa., dropped out of the pension fund when its finances went bad. The Catholic hospital closed in 2002, and all its 3,000 workers were left without pensions because the hospital was no longer guaranteed under the federal system.