Retirement Savings

Concordia Plans has partnered with Fidelity Investments as a best-in-class 403(b) record keeper. Fidelity has a dedicated call center, with staff trained to answer questions specific to ministers of religions and rostered workers who have unique financial needs. In addition, Fidelity’s planning consultants are just a phone call away to provide advice and guidance to plan members.

CRSP participants can take advantage of services provided by the ProManage PROgram™. ProManage builds a diversified investment portfolio based on each worker’s individual data which takes the pressure off of them needing to make investment decisions. Nearly 90% of CRSP plan members use ProManage’s services which are available at a fraction of the cost of hiring a financial advisor.

Your workers can save on a pre-tax or Roth after-tax basis, allowing them flexibility to save in a way that provides them with the greatest tax advantages for their individual situation. The CRSP has no restrictions on how often your workers can change their savings amounts and they can change their investments allocations any time through Fidelity’s website. For rostered workers, CRSP funds earned while in service as a Minister of Religion are designated as eligible for housing allowance exclusion.

You can further encourage your workers to save by implementing automatic enrollment with AutoSave. Through AutoSave, your workers automatically begin saving in the CRSP 403(b) when they are enrolled in the Plan and continue to save for retirement until they choose to opt out of the program. Auto escalation is another option for saving that slowly and automatically increases the amount your workers save over time.

Concordia Plans uses the investment expertise of NEPC to provide a diverse fund line up for workers to invest in, all with minimal fees. Paying less in fees means your workers keep more of their savings. We carefully review the CRSP’s investments funds on a regular basis to make sure they are performing at or above expectations, and adjust the funds offered if needed.

Our dedicated CRSP Team is here to help you with the everyday administration of the Plan. Our partner 90 Degree Benefits (previously EBSO) processes CRSP contributions. From online form submission to automatic withdraw, they can pair your ministry with the process that best meets your needs. In addition, you can use our payroll vendor Paycor to further streamline CRSP administration.

Concordia Plans will help you with compliance in several ways including monitoring IRS contribution limits and sending some legal notices (Fidelity also sends some, and the employer is expected to provide others).