Assessing retirement needs of women religious

Religious institutes must plan to meet the financial needs of their retired members and must consider the environment, living arrangements, and quality of life after retirement. Recently ServantCor, a Catholic human services system based in Kankakee, IL, helped two institutes of religious women plan a more comprehensive retirement program by developing a model for them to assess their retirement needs. The model was based on information from eight sources: The institute's current practice. Projected demographic data on number of retired sisters and number of infirmary beds that would be needed over the next two decades. Questionnaires on all the sisters' perceptions of retirement. Interviews with selected sisters concerning issues covered in the questionnaires. Site visits to residences for retired sisters. Geriatric services available in the area where the largest number of retired sisters lived. Retirement programs for other religious institutes in the area. The adequacy of the institute's financial resources. At one institute, focus groups with older laypersons also were held to determine ministry possibilities in the area. Six months after the studies' completion, the provincials of the two institutes said that it helped them in planning to meet the sisters' future infirmary needs. They cited an increased awareness of the need for a holistic approach to retirement. The provincial at one institute said that members' attitude toward the infirmary had improved. At the other institute, they obtained a broader perspective on ministry possibilities to the elderly in the area.