Abstract
There has been a backlash from recently graduated proponents of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa that they are unemployed not just because of dwindling church member numbers, but mainly because contract posts are being filled by retired ministers and not by the proponents. International research suggests that the reason retired ministers continue working is not necessarily because they want to, but because they do not have sufficient retirement savings. The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of Dutch Reformed ministers who would reach retirement age within the next 5 years, in an effort to establish their preparedness for retirement. The respondents were sent a link to an online questionnaire and 147 useable questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 47.7%. The results indicated that almost half of the respondents stated that they would want to continue working in a part-time ministerial post after retirement and that the ministers’ motivation to continue working was directly linked to their lack of financial provision for retirement. A major cause for concern is the high number of respondents who selected the ‘uncertain’ response option for most of the retirement questions, as they are so close to retirement. An intervention to incorporate financial management specifically in theological training is urgently needed.
Highlights
According to recent estimates, more than 55% of the current full-time Dutch Reformed ministry corps fall between the ages of 51 and 65 and will have to retire within the 15 years (Agenda Algemene Sinode 2015)
This result corresponds with Geldenhuys (2010), who stated that roughly 31% of South Africans have to continue working after retirement age, because of low or no savings
The issue of contract ministerial posts being filled by retired ministers instead of proponents in the Dutch Reformed Church has been put under the spotlight in this article
Summary
More than 55% of the current full-time Dutch Reformed ministry corps fall between the ages of 51 and 65 and will have to retire within the 15 years (Agenda Algemene Sinode 2015). The majority of South Africans do not have the luxury of having excess funds that can go towards savings and it has been estimated that more than 40% only start saving towards retirement between the ages of 45 and 50 (Geldenhuys 2010). An article that appeared in Kerkbode on 18 May 2012, which reported that the majority of recently graduated proponents of the Dutch Reformed Church were unemployed (Kerkbode 2012:1), evoked wide and strong responses. The article and subsequent feedback from social media revealed intense reactions from both the older and younger readership of the magazine, concerning the possible reasons behind this phenomenon (Facebook 2012)
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