2013 Salary Guidelines

Suggested salary guidelines for rostered leaders

“The gift he gave were that some would be . . . evangelists, some pastors, some teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

“This church affirms the universal priesthood of all its baptized members. In its function and its structure this church commits itself to the equipping and supporting of all its members for their ministries in the world and in this church. It is within this context of ministry that this church calls some of its baptized members for specific ministries in this church” (ELCA Constitution 7.11).

Rationale

The 2013 Salary Guidelines for Rostered Leaders in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod are provided by the synod to assist in establishing appropriate salary packages. The various charts and attachments provide useful information. These guidelines are developed with awareness of both urban and suburban circumstances in our synod and of the other synods of Region 5. These synods are striving for uniformity in guidelines, although the dollar amounts may vary.

For 2013, we are recommending a 2.0% cost of living increase for rostered leaders. This is based on forecasts that US Consumer Price Index for 2013 will be roughly 1.90%.

Based on median housing costs in our synod, obtained from the 2012 data available, we determined that the minimum recommended housing allowance should be raised by $3,000.00 from $15,000.00 to $18,000.00. In the 2012 guidelines, we recommended that this increase be made in $1,000.00 increments over a three-year period. Therefore, the 2012 minimum housing allowance was $16,000.00, the 2013 is $17,000.00, in 2014 it will be $18,000.00.

Changes in the guidelines include:

• Part II, Option 1: recommended minimum housing allowance increased to $17,000.00.

Housing tips

The ELCA has developed a resource that provides average housing costs by zip code. Please feel free to visit that site for more details at 
http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Research-and-Evaluation/ZIP-Code-Report.aspx.

Our Region/Synod Code is 5A.

Additional Information

The ELCA Board of Pensions (BOP) changed its name to Portico Benefit Services.

Currently, the website continues to be www.elcabop.org.

According to the Rev. Jeff Thiemann, CEO of Portico Benefit Services, while large U.S. employersexpect health premiums to rise by 7% in 2013, ELCA employers will pay only 4% more for health benefits, with some of that cost offset by reduced rates for ELCA disability and survivor benefits. The net impact of the adjustments is estimated to be between 1% – 1.5% of defined compensation for ELCA employers. “Containing our overall rate increases for ELCA benefits is a significant win for congregations, when costs elsewhere are skyrocketing,” Thiemann said.

Forms & Documents