Manage Employee Benefits
As a rule of thumb, employee benefits are projected to cost 25 to 40 percent beyond an employee’s base wage or salary. Benefits are a significant part of total compensation including things like insurance (health, life and disability), retirement and FICA contributions, a parsonage or home equity allowance for clergy, paid vacation, continuing education allowance, sabbatical, etc.
For clergy and other staff, most ELCA congregations partner with Portico Benefit Services (the benefits ministry of the ELCA) for a package of medical, retirement and other benefits. Portico facilitates the process of offering these benefits without having to organize and administer them independently. Your congregation will have an administrative portal through the internet to manage the details of your Portico account including costs and benefits.
Employees should understand that congregations typically are exempt from unemployment insurance, meaning there are no unemployment benefits should there be a layoff.
