Keeping track of your healthcare costs can take effort, but the payoff can be worth it. Following these tips could mean more money in your pocket, and may even help you get healthier.
If you are a UCC clergyperson pondering the optimal timing for your retirement to begin receiving monthly annuity benefit payments, the decision is an important one that carries significant weight, and can impact your financial security.
By Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, Ph.D.
Francis of Assisi’s first biographer Thomas of Celano described Francis as “always new, always fresh, always beginning again.” Now, for most of us with a history and several decades of habits and preferences, Celano’s description seems an impossibility. We often feel set in our ways and resist change. Yet, as President Jimmy Carter noted, the most creative times of our lives are when we go away to college and in our first years of retirement. Certainly, that was the case with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who embarked on four decades of adventures of spirit, politics, and service following Carter’s presidency.
By Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, Ph.D.
My friend and fellow theologian and member of the Medicare generation Patricia Adams Farmer talks about taking a “beauty break.” Amid the various activities of the day, we can pause and notice the wonder of life around us. We can as poet Mary Oliver says, “Pay attention” and “Be astonished” at the amazing world in which we live and the wonder of our own lives, “awesomely and wonderfully made.”
New York, New York May 06, 2024 - PBUCC has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2024 honor by The NewYork City Top Workplaces.
This list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-partysurvey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures the employee experience and its component themes, including employees feeling Respected & Supported, Enabled to Grow, and Empowered to Execute, to name a few.
According to a survey by USA Today Blueprint, the top four 2024 resolutions for Americans are saving for: a rainy-day fund, retirement, their kids’ education and a big purchase. Paying down credit card debt rounds out the top five items on Americans’ wish list.
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As a UCC minister, you are called to a life of service, devoting yourself to the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of those in your congregation. This selfless commitment, however, can sometimes mean you will have to make financial sacrifices along the way. Changes in your ministry role, unexpected life events, or other personal challenges can impact your financial wellbeing and retirement plans.
For pastors, caring for the spiritual needs of older adult members of their congregations is a sacred task—a relationship of mutuality and blessing between pastor and elder. Among our pastoral colleagues, there are also those who are responsible for providing support and care to older people outside the congregation—their older adult parents.
By Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, Ph.D.
Rabbi Hillel, an older contemporary of Jesus, is known for his wise counsel. Over the years, and especially now as a member of the Medicare generation, Hillel’s words invite me to join self-care and self-affirmation with care and affirmation of others.
Have you ever considered what will happen to your loved ones after you have left this earth? It may be uncomfortable to consider, or perhaps you are so busy you have not had a chance to consider it. In either scenario, if you are reading this article, you have time to implement simple steps that will make you feel better about your ability to protect their future.