C of E vicars call for ’urgent and decisive action’ on increasing their pensions

Church of England vicars are demanding an increase in pensions amid claims that many face an impoverished old age, with some forced to rely on food banks or move in with adult children.

Almost 2,000 C of E clergy have joined an action group on Facebook in the past few weeks and 700 signed a letter to the Church Times calling for “urgent and decisive action”.

The Rev Marcus Gibbs, the vicar of the Ascension church in Balham, south London, and lead signatory, told the Guardian: “This is a justice issue, and a moral and Christian imperative to ensure that people who have dedicated their lives to the church can have a dignified retirement.”

The action group is demanding the C of E reverses a 2011 cut in pensions that meant retiring vicars now get half the minimum clergy stipend (salary) of £28,680 rather than two-thirds. Most working clergy are also provided with housing, which they lose when they retire.

The cut in pensions came four years after the qualifying period for a full clergy pension was increased from 37 years to 41.5 years. Clergy with fewer years of service get less than 50% of the minimum stipend.

Meanwhile, the C of E’s assets have increased in value and are currently worth £10.4bn.

Gibbs said: “Before the church can speak with credibility in the House of Lords on social justice issues, it must ensure it’s caring justly for those who’ve served it.” Citing a biblical proverb, he added: “The phrase that comes to mind is, ‘Physician, heal thyself.’”

Providing an adequate pension was good business practice as well as a justice issue, he said. “If you want people to do a good job, you don’t want them living in fear of an impoverished old age. You look after people.”

One retired vicar who contacted the action group said: “After 40 years of service, my pension barely covers my rent. I never thought I’d have to choose between food and medicine.”

Another wrote: “I gave my life to the church, moved my family from town to town, living in parsonages that weren’t mine. Now I have nothing to show for it, and can’t afford a home of my own.”

A third said: “I had to move in with my children because my pension wouldn’t cover even a small apartment. I feel like a burden and it breaks my heart.” Another said: “My spouse and I both served the church, but now we can’t afford our medical bills. The church asked everything of us, but where are they now, when you need help?”

The Rev Ian Paul, a member of the archbishops’ council, an advisory body, submitted a motion last year to the General Synod, the C of E’s ruling body, calling on the church to restore pensions to their pre-2011 levels. It passed unanimously.

“The key issue is that the church commissioners [who manage the C of E’s assets] are not letting go of the money,” he said. “It would cost them £25m a year to restore the cut, which is peanuts compared to assets worth £10.4bn.”

Clergy approaching retirement were “now realising they are going to be in penury”. The action group was the result of a “crack in the dam opening up, and a huge body of discontent breaking through”, he said. “People have been reluctant to speak out, but many feel betrayed.”

The action group also wants an independent review to examine pension provision.

In February, Carl Hughes, the chair of the archbishops’ council finance committee, told the synod that the C of E planned to “increase future stipends automatically in line with inflation, on top of a catch-up increase to the national minimum stipend, which will boost both stipends and the starting rate of pensions”. Specific proposals are due be put before the synod in July.