The OPC Pension Plan was replaced by the OPC 403(b) Plan, and withdrawals of money which was contributed on a pre-tax basis (which is generally the case) are considered to be taxable ordinary income, taxed at whatever your particular tax rate would be in the year of the withdrawal. The exception, as we noted in the webinar, is that under current tax law, a retired minister could be withdrawing as much as $21,000 per year (for 2018) and have it considered Housing Allowance, thus making those withdrawn amounts tax free. Finally, if someone has made Roth (after-tax) contributions to the 403(b) plan, they can withdraw Roth balances tax free.

Yes, it can be used for housing-related expenses only. IRS Publication 517 covers the details of what qualifies. Although not mentioned in the webinar, the maximum amount that retired ministers can withdraw as Housing Allowance in 2019 will be $21,600.

By “Salary Reduction Agreement all along”, I’m assuming that you mean an agreement you had signed with your church whereby they reduced your salary by X amount and submitted that to the OPC Pension Fund/403(b) Plan? If that’s correct, than yes, you were making pre-tax contributions to your account at least during the Pension Plan era; commencing with the 403(b) Plan era, those salary reduction contributions could have been either pre-tax or post-tax (i.e. Roth).

For your 2018 tax return, the Standard Deduction is $12,000 (single), $24,000 (married filing jointly), and an additional $1,300 per person if you are 65 or older. For tax year 2019, the amounts are $12,200 (single), $24,400 (MFJ), and still $1,300 per person if 65+.

Generally, yes. A widow can claim Social Security and Medicare benefits based on her husband’s deceased earnings record as long as they were married for at least 9 months. This would be true whether your widow had any credits of her own or none. Remarriage could alter how she qualifies.

In order to qualify to have withdrawals in retirement classified as Housing Allowance, the money would need to transfer from another 403(b) plan and be attributable to wages that were earned as a minister. You will need to attest to this on the Wipfli 403(b) Rollover Form. The OPC 403(b) Plan can also accept transfers from IRA’s and certain other retirement plans, but those amounts would not be eligible to later be withdrawn as Housing Allowance. Contact Benjamin Hayes or contact Dan Holdridge at Wipfli for further details.

Yes; see answer to Question 6 above.