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Dioceses consulted on housing assistance for retired clergy

16 January 2008

The Church of England is to consult dioceses and individuals on how it can best support retired clergy in need of housing assistance after a life of service to the church, as in recent years house price growth has outstripped the increase in average earnings.

The majority of clergy live in tied accommodation as part of the church’s commitment to maintaining a presence in every community in the land. Concerns over housing for retired clergy were raised during consultations over the future shape of the clergy pensions scheme and the Archbishops’ Council set up a review group in January 2007. The group has now reported its assessment of possible new ways of helping clergy to provide for their own housing in retirement, of the current and future costs of the church’s scheme of housing assistance for retired clergy, and of options for improving that scheme.

The review group has recommended a number of possibilities:

  • Financial support towards deposits to help clergy towards early property purchase
  • Where appropriate, more clergy receiving housing allowances instead of a parsonage
  • Building up clergy’s capacity to buy their own home in retirement, including tax-efficient saving
  • Promoting education in personal financial management
  • Refining and possibly refinancing the church’s current clergy retirement housing scheme
  • Introducing a new shared ownership housing scheme

None of these options is cost free and dioceses and individual clergy have been asked to comment on the review group’s report by July.

A personal financial management course, starting in May 2008, is being promoted to both training and serving clergy. The course has been specially developed by the Open University to help individuals make informed financial decisions. It develops practical financial skills and an understanding of the rapidly changing social and economic context for them.

The group examined and discarded a range of further options:

  • A blanket alternative to tied housing for parish clergy was found to be undesirable in ministry terms and impractical, not least because tied housing underpins the church’s commitment to maintaining the presence of its clergy within their parishes.
  • Working with housing associations did not appear to bring significant advantages
  • Negotiating the provision of retirement homes under section 106 planning agreements on the sale of church land was seen as attractive but of limited scope and benefit
  • A corporate buy-to-let scheme is unlikely to suit most clergy
  • The group was unable to identify a suitable property bond based exclusively on residential property or any similar investment vehicles. Schemes offering shared ownership in buy-to-let syndicates are embryonic and as yet unproven
  • Transferring clergy housing into a trust and allowing clergy to acquire equity in that trust would be impractical and questionable.

Notes

The Retirement Housing Review report.

Summary/consultation document.

At the end of 2006 (the most recent date at which confirmed figures are available) the Church had committed some £163 million in capital to support its retirement housing scheme, mainly funded by the Church Commissioners. It also spends £3 million a year subsidising scheme users’ rental payments on a means-tested basis.