Archdiocese Freezes Pensions for Lay Employees

Account has a shortfall of $150 million.

The Inquirer reports: “The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to freeze the traditional pension for about 8,500 parochial school teachers, church office workers, and other lay employees, church officials said Tuesday.”

The plan was facing a long-term shortfall of $150 million, so the archdiocese’s 8,500 lay workers—school teachers, officer staff, etc.—will be moved from a traditional pension plan to a 401(k) plan; the archdiocese will contribute an estimated 4.5 percent of a first-year employee’s salary to the new account. Nearly 5,000 employees who are already retired will stay with the pension accounts.