The Pastor and Medical Insurance

Pastors should be provided with adequate medical insurance coverage for themselves and their families. Since premiums paid by the church on behalf of an employee are not, usually, considered taxable income, I believe very strongly that churches should pay the full cost of a pastor’s medical insurance coverage so as to reduce any taxable income for the pastor.

Now, I would be negligent if I didn’t mention the 800-pound gorilla in the room – Obamacare. Regardless of your personal or political views on the issue, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has become a real problem for many pastors and churches.

However, if viewed from the right perspective, I believe that Obamacare could actually be one of the best things that has ever happened to either pastors or churches.

While it is beyond the scope of this article to really develop this topic, I have written a small book titled Benefitting from Obamacare that will help you think through the ways churches and pastors may be able to benefit from the ACA. In our case, our church was able to use the provisions of the ACA to save more than $100,000 in medical insurance premiums over the past three years while, at the same time, providing the best medical insurance possible for our pastoral staff. You can download this book for free by visiting my website – www.brokepastor.com.

Regardless of how the insurance is provided, I believe that this is the most important benefit a church can provide for its pastor.

From How to Not Be a Broke Pastor - Copyright 2017, BROKEPASTOR, LLC