New Retirement Plan Coming to LI Diocese

The Diocese of Rockville Centre will redefine its retirement plans for certain workers and phase out its former pension plan, according to Newsday.

The almost 3,000 employees who have worked for the Diocese less than 30 years will have their retirement plans switched to a 403(b) plan, essentially a 401(k) plan for nonprofits, said the report.

Diocesan spokesman Sean Dolan told Newsday that the new plan, which will apply to employees with less than 30 years of experience as of Dec. 31, follows that of many other companies.

"We want to be able to deliver what we promise and promise what we deliver," Dolan told Newsday. "Look at how many governments and companies, people just wake up and they find they don't have a pension. We're just trying to make sure that is not the case."

The change will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015, said the report.

Dolan didn’t specify whether the plan would save the Diocese money.

Employees with more than 30 years of work at the Diocese as of Dec. 31 will maintain their original pension plans with fixed monthly payments from the diocese, said the report.