About RPB

Video: Learn About RPB

What we provide

RPB provides clergy, professionals, educators, and other staff of Reform Movement congregations and other qualified organizations with plans and programs to help you achieve the type of retirement you desire.

• 403(b) defined-contribution retirement plan
  
• Deferred compensation plan (Rabbi Trust)
• Term life insurance
• Long term disability insurance
• Retirement plan contribution insurance
• Loans from retirement accounts
• Retirement readiness tools and education
• Congregational investing

Benefit from a custom experience

RPB understands that those working for Reform Movement organizations have unique financial needs. We know that synagogues need to attract and retain the best and the brightest to ensure the future of the Reform Movement. That’s why we’re proud to offer some services and resources that other retirement plan providers can’t.

• Uniquely personal service. Not only do we understand our participants’ professional roles and employers, but we also get to know many of you on an individual level. We take great pride in being able to provide personalized support in a number of ways, including one-on-one customer service handled by our own New York-based team.
  
• Investing approach aligned with Jewish values. Jewish values guide everything we do, from our Jewish Values Investing Policy to our socially responsible investment option, the Reform Jewish Values Fund, for those who want to “do good while doing well.”
• Tailored investment choices. We offer investment funds for every level of risk tolerance, experience, and desired involvement.
• Non-qualified deferred compensation plan (“Rabbi Trust”). This plan allows employers to contribute more than the annual IRS contribution limit to their employees’ retirement accounts.
  
• Parsonage. Rabbis with a housing allowance have unique tax situations in retirement. Because distributions from your RPB 403(b) account qualify for a parsonage tax exclusion, retired clergy can use allowable housing expenses to limit their taxable income.
• Collaboration with financial advisors. We partner with our participants’ financial representatives to aid in their financial planning.
• Annual retirement seminar. Our annual retirement planning seminar—which features in-depth sessions with industry experts—helps our plan participants ensure that you are on track for the retirement you want.
• Portability. If you start working for a new eligible employer, your RPB account stays with you; there’s no additional administrative work for you. Your new employer will be responsible for paying the retirement contributions.
• A plan that is always working in participants’ best interest. We have no shareholders to please or revenue goals to meet. Our primary goal is to provide high-quality, low-cost retirement and insurance benefits to empower our plan participants to retire with dignity—which aids employers in attracting strong leaders and allows the Reform Movement to thrive.

Our history

The Reform Pension Board was founded in 1944 as the Rabbinical Pension Board, and we’ve been helping our participants work toward achieving financial security and a dignified retirement ever since. As the Reform Movement grew through the second half of the 20th century, RPB grew alongside it—we renamed ourselves, widened our mission, and increased our offerings. We look forward to continuing to serve our Reform Movement professionals in the future.

1917 - Philanthropist Jacob R. Schiff seeded $100,000 to grow a pension fund—which would eventually become RPB—for rabbis whose retirement was traditionally paid for by their congregations.

1944 - RPB is founded with the goal of helping rabbis and their spouses live a dignified retirement by splitting retirement costs across all congregations where the rabbis served over the course of their careers. The original Plan consisted of individual retirement income policies for rabbis.

1960 - RPB revises the Plan from individual policies to a group-oriented life insurance and pension plan.

1967 - The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the URJ) Biennial in Montreal adopts the basic form and structure of the Reform Pension Plan which still endures. This includes the currently recommended contribution amount of 18% of the participant’s compensation—15% to be contributed by the congregation and 3% to come from the participant’s salary.

1987 - RPB’s portfolio surpasses $100 million.

1998 - Rabbinical Pension Board is renamed to the Reform Pension Board.

1999 - RPB reaches $500 million of assets under management.

2001 - RPB introduces an investment choice program which gave participants the option to allocate their assets between RPB’s equity and bond funds.

2012 - RPB reaches $1 billion of assets under management.

2014 - RPB adopts its Jewish Values Investing Policy.

2018 - The Reform Jewish Values Fund is created to allow our participants to invest in a fund dedicated to Jewish values. RPB also introduces congregational investing in the RJV Fund.