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If you are new to being a pastor or church planter, chances are someone has told you "You should opt out of social security!" In this episode I will walk through the IRS social security exemption that is allowed for clergy but also explain who qualifies and the dangers of opting out if you don't meet the true exemptions.
God's given you a vision to plant a church. You're gifted and maybe have the team ready to go. However, there are thousands of details and hundreds of questions that you have. In this podcast we will answer some of the common questions and answer listener submitted questions to help you fulfill the call the Lord's given you.
Welcome back, everyone, to 101 questions at Church Planters Ask. I'm your host, Danny Parmelee. And the question that we're answering today may only pertain to a few of you, but still I think it is worth a listen, maybe some principles that you can learn from this. The question that church planters have been asking, especially those that are brand new to ministry within their first couple years is, should I opt out of Social Security? And they're usually asking that question because someone told them, you should do this.
Danny Parmelee:Or maybe they read something about it online. Now, I still don't know many people that love to pay taxes. So when young pastors or church planters hear that there's an option to opt out of paying into Social Security, essentially, you know, keeping 15% more of your paycheck. It seems like a no brainer, but the decision is a bit more complicated than that. So a couple things that I wanna be clear about.
Danny Parmelee:First of all, the federal government has created a provision for pastors to legally opt out of Social Security. Meaning that you don't have to pay into it, and it means also that you don't receive a benefit, from it later on in life. The complicated part, however, or the sticky situation is what qualifies someone to opt out of Social Security. To legally and ethically opt out of Social Security, you have to have a religious or moral objection to receiving assistance from the government. Now I repeat, you have to have a moral religious objection to receiving assistance from the government as it comes to healthcare, and insurance, death benefits, and the like.
Danny Parmelee:You cannot simply opt out of Social Security because you think that it's better financially for you not to pay taxes and invest the money yourself. Trust me. If this was the option, I would 100% opt out of Social Security. See, I believe that I could take the 15% invested in the market myself, buy the proper amount of, you know, life insurance, disability insurance, health insurance, and I would do much better than Uncle Sam. But to opt out of Social Security, for the IRS, you have to file a form forty three sixty one, and this is what you are agreeing to.
Danny Parmelee:It says right on there, I am consciously opposed to, or because of my religious principles, I am opposed to the acceptance of any public insurance that makes payments in the event of death, disability, old age, or retirement, or that makes payments towards the cost of or provide services for medical care. Now something that is key here is that your religious objection is about receiving assistance from the government. I've heard pastors say, well, I morally object to my contributions, you know, because the government's gonna use them for, you know, abortions or euthanasia or whatever, you know, whatever you're you object the government using your money to spend it on. This exemption is not about how your taxes are used. It's based off your religious objection to receiving funds for your retirement, or insurance, or health care.
Danny Parmelee:Now, I did some research because I was curious as to where this exemption even came about, and I couldn't find where it originated, and I can't even think of the group of people that have these types of convictions. See, I'm I'm trying to think of even a biblical reason for this, and when I ask pastors, you know, what's your objection? What's kind of your theological or biblical grounds? I have yet to hear an answer other than it's financially better for me to just opt out. To me, if you really believe, and it's really your belief to have this, you know, religious biblical standpoint that you shouldn't receive this type of assistance from the government, well then you should be teaching your people the same thing.
Danny Parmelee:Reject any sort of assistance that comes from the government. And to be consistent with this, it would mean that someone besides the government should be taking care of people's retirement, you know, medical and health bills, which essentially means the church. And that's the only thing I can think of that where this originated from. My current question for pastors and planters is if if you cash the stimulus check from the government, you know, that was just sent to you because of the COVID nineteen pandemic, or how many of the churches that applied for the PPE, remember the payment protection plan, Or when those came in, did you just like rip those checks up? Like, my dead body, I will not receive any sort of government assistance.
Danny Parmelee:I am just biblically and theologically opposed to it. You know, I highly doubt it. Now one of the things that frustrates me is that I see lots of advice from the Christian community advising people and advise or advising pastors unethically in this area. I won't share the name, but there's an organization that helps churches with their initial setup and paperwork. And time and time again, I've run into planters, where they said they advised me to opt out of Social Security and not to pay for Social Security.
Danny Parmelee:And to me, this is just a disheartening thing. I was disappointed to read even on Dave Ramsey's page. This is what he writes. He says, if I were in your shoes, and still serving as a church pastor, I'd opt out in a nanosecond. That's because sending money to the Social Security office is a bad way to manage your money for God.
Danny Parmelee:Now, I totally agree with you Dave, that Social Security is a bad financial investment, but that's not what qualifies someone for the exemption. So besides your own personal integrity here, here's why I think opting out of Social Security can really bite you in the butt. When you're preaching and teaching your people about issues of honesty, and integrity, and finances, and taxes, don't you think it will be difficult to be consistent with your message and your life? I think we can learn a bit from Jesus when he was being cornered by the pharisees and they were trying to trap him. You remember that they asked him, is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?
Danny Parmelee:And his response, which we all know well is, so give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's. Now, Jesus response wasn't, you know, as simple as just pay your taxes. What Jesus was really getting at is that there are two kingdoms. There's God's kingdom, and then there's Caesar's kingdom, or the world in which we live. And while we live on this Earth, we are caught in the tension of both of them.
Danny Parmelee:It's not as simple as pick one or the other. So there are going to be systems and structures in this world that we're a part of, the tax system being a perfect example, and we have to live in that. We have to obey it. We have to operate within that. If that means paying money to the government, so be it.
Danny Parmelee:Then of course, Jesus says, and give to God what is God's. And preacher, I hate to break it to you. This is not a tithing sermon. Jesus wasn't just trying to talk about tithing here. Jesus is talking about our true allegiance, the Lord's kingdom.
Danny Parmelee:And if I'm to objectively kind of let the spirit convict me in these words, Jesus is saying, don't worry about the money. Give it to the government. What I want is your heart. I want your very life. My kingdom people will live by grace, and honesty, integrity, patience, love, and full worship, and devotion to me.
Danny Parmelee:So when I hear those words of Jesus, I think that if Jesus were to answer this question, and maybe that's really strongly put, but Jesus saying, you know what? Just it it's part of taxes are part of the the the world's kingdom. It's part of Caesar's kingdom. Just pay it. That's not what's really important, but I want you to live with honesty and integrity.
Danny Parmelee:So now you see where I stand on this issue. Heard me rant a bit. And yes, I hate paying taxes, and yet at the same time, God has always provided for me and for my family. Thanks so much for listening. And remember, if you have a question about church planting, you can head over to church planters ask dot com.
Danny Parmelee:You can leave us a message there, or go to Instagram or Facebook. You can direct message. And until next time, keep asking those questions.