You’re in Your 50s and Unsure of Your Financial Future: Where Do You Start?
If you’re a pastor in your 50s, you probably feel a lot like Mark and Anna.
They’re a fictional couple, and to be crystal clear, they aren’t real people. But their situation is very real. You might see pieces of your own story in theirs.
Mark is 54 and has served as a senior pastor for more than twenty years. Anna, also 54, works part time in medical billing and administrative support for a regional healthcare group. Their three children are grown. Life is steady. Ministry is full. Both of their parents are entering the stage of life where support may be needed, which has begun to shape some of their conversations about the future.
They’ve saved something over the years, but they’re not sure what any of it really means.
A church-sponsored 403(b).
An old Roth IRA.
A 401(k) from Anna’s full-time years.
A modest emergency fund.
Nothing extravagant. Nothing careless. Just years of trying to be faithful with what they’ve had.
But now, in their mid-50s, they’re wondering something many pastors eventually ask:
“Are we anywhere close to where we need to be?”
They’re not alone. Many pastors reach this moment.
Where This Journey Begins
Before you talk about numbers, projections, or retirement formulas, there’s a more important place to start.
And surprisingly, it isn’t, “How much do I need to retire?”
The real starting point is much more foundational.
“What do I want the next season of my life to look like?”
Most pastors haven’t ever paused long enough to answer that question.
Ministry moves fast. People need you. The calendar fills with little to no effort. Planning for your own future becomes something you assume you’ll get to eventually.
But real planning starts with vision, not math.
You can’t build a plan for a future you haven’t imagined.
Here are some questions every pastor in their 50s should consider. These are the questions Mark and Anna had to explore before anything else made sense.
Do we want to stay in the community where we serve now?
Do we want to move closer to our children or grandchildren someday?
What kind of home do we picture living in?
Do we want to preach or teach occasionally?
Do we want to travel?
How do we want to spend our time?
What brings joy, rest, and energy?
What drains us?
What do we believe God is inviting us into?
How important is proximity to healthcare?
Do we want a simpler life or a fresh chapter?
These aren’t financial questions at first. They’re questions of identity, and purpose.
If you’re married, these are conversations you must have together.
They’re the kinds of questions I explored in Legacy Together, a guided journal I wrote to help couples clarify what matters most. You don’t need a journal to do this work, but you do need intentional conversations. If you’d like a tool to help begin those conversations, you can learn more at legacytogetherbook.com.
Clarity about your financial future begins with clarity about what you value most.
A Snapshot of Where Mark and Anna Are Starting
Here’s what we know about this fictional couple as we begin the series.
Household income: $118,000
Mark: $85,000 in salary ($65,000) and housing allowance ($20,000)
Anna: $33,000 from part-time work
Savings and investments: about $311,000
Mark’s church-sponsored 403(b)
Mark’s Roth IRA
Anna’s 401(k) from previous full-time employment
Emergency savings: $12,000
Housing: $246,000 remaining on their mortgage
Debts:
$540 per month car payment
No consumer debt
$1,800 medical balance
Social Security:
Mark didn’t opt out
Both have enough work history to qualify
Anyone can check their own record at ssa.gov/myaccount
Health Insurance:
Their coverage is through Anna’s employer, a plan that covers the basics but comes with a fairly high deductible
Common blind spots:
Mark may be underutilizing his eligible housing allowance
Anna’s employer offers a 6 percent match she never enrolled in
They haven’t calculated what retirement might require
They haven’t clarified the life they want in their next season
They’re not sure how their accounts work together
They simply don’t know where to start
None of this makes them irresponsible. It simply means they’ve reached the stage where their future deserves focused attention.
So Where Do You Start If You Feel Like Them?
You start exactly where Mark and Anna started.
You begin by clarifying the life God’s leading you toward.
Once they created a picture of their next season, the practical questions became easier to think through.
What kind of income would support the life we just described?
What might our Social Security benefits be?
How do our existing accounts fit together?
What decisions matter most in our 50s?
How do housing allowance and taxes change in retirement?
What should we understand about healthcare and long-term care?
How do we protect one another as we age?
Vision always comes before strategy.
If you skip this step, planning becomes guesswork, and your 50s become a decade of reacting instead of preparing.
Where We’re Going in This Twelve-Part Series
This is just the beginning.
Over the next several posts, we’ll walk through the major components of a real-world financial plan for pastors, using Mark and Anna as a guide. This series is strictly educational. It’s designed to help pastors understand concepts and categories they’ve often never been taught, not to give individualized recommendations.
Here’s what’s ahead.
Part Two: Income Foundations
Understanding Social Security, SECA, survivor benefits, and how retirement age shapes long-term income.
Part Three: Retirement Accounts and Investments
403(b)s, IRAs, Roth accounts, employer plans, contribution rules, and what each account is generally used for.
Part Four: Housing Allowance and Clergy Tax Considerations
How housing allowance works now and later, what changes in retirement, and common blind spots to be aware of.
Part Five: How Much Will You Need?
Lifestyle decisions, retirement expectations, calling, and why a single number isn’t enough without context.
Part Six: Healthcare, Medicare, and Long-Term Care
Understanding the building blocks of healthcare in retirement.
Part Seven: Risk Management (Insurance)
Life, disability, and liability basics pastors often review in their 50s.
Part Eight: Cash Flow and Debt Strategy
Structuring cash flow, prioritizing savings, and recognizing trade-offs.
Part Nine: Adult Children and Financial Boundaries
How supporting adult children impacts planning in mid-life.
Part Ten: Caring for Aging Parents
The realities, pressures, and implications of the sandwich generation.
Part Eleven: Estate Planning
Wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations.
Part Twelve: Bringing It All Together
A coordinated, pastor-specific framework and how someone in Mark and Anna’s situation might connect the dots.
A Final Word for Part One
If you’re a pastor in your 50s and uncertain about your financial future, it’s not too late.
You don’t need all the answers right now. You don’t need a perfect plan. You don’t need to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
You just need a place to begin.
This series will give you the clarity, language, and understanding to take your next step at your pace, with wisdom, and with confidence.
Mark and Anna will walk this journey with you. And by the end, you’ll be able to say, “I finally know where to start.”
Educational Disclaimer:
This series is for educational purposes only and is not intended as individualized financial, tax, or legal advice. Every pastor’s situation is unique. For guidance specific to your personal circumstances, consider consulting a qualified professional who understands clergy-specific planning.
