Catholic Health, sponsored by the Diocese of Rockville Centre, offers two retirement plans. One is a traditional pension that its 2024 benefits summary describes as growing with each year you work. The other is a 403(b) you fund yourself. The pension also raises a question worth asking: whether it is a church plan. For the rules that apply at every hospital, see the Healthcare professionals page.
On this page
The pension
The pension: a formula, not an account
The Diocese of Rockville Centre Pension Plan costs you nothing; the handbook says it “requires no contribution from and has no cost to the employee.” You become a member automatically at age 21 after one year of service, if you are scheduled for at least 20 hours a week.
Each year adds to your pension. The addition is your prior year’s pension-eligible W-2 earnings multiplied by a percentage that rises with service:
| Years you have worked | % of that year’s earnings added |
|---|---|
| 1 to 10 | 1.3% |
| 11 to 20 | 1.4% |
| 21 and after | 1.6% |
For illustration: $80,000 of pension-eligible earnings in one of your first ten years adds $1,040 a year to the pension (1.3% of $80,000). Your own figures are on your pension statement.
This is the plan as Catholic Health’s 2024 summary describes it; its 2025 and 2026 benefits guides do not cover retirement. The Diocese’s separate Lay Employee Pension, which covers its own offices, parishes and schools, stopped accruing on December 31, 2014. Catholic Health’s summary does not say the same of its plan. Check your latest pension statement to confirm you are still earning credit.
- Vesting. Five years of continuous service.
- Normal retirement. Age 65 or the 10th anniversary of participation in the plan, whichever is later.
- Early retirement. From 55, in a reduced amount.
- How it is paid. A monthly annuity for your lifetime unless you choose another form. The pension decisions page covers that election.
- Before retirement. A vested death benefit is paid to your beneficiary.
Rather go through this with your own numbers? We can cover it in a short conversation, at no charge and with no obligation. Book your Retirement Review
What protects it
Is it a church plan?
A plan maintained by an organization associated with a church can be a church plan even if a church did not create it; the Supreme Court held this in 2017. A church plan is exempt from Title I of ERISA, and a church plan pension is not insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation unless it has elected to be covered.
None of Catholic Health’s published benefit materials we read says whether its plans are church plans. That affects how the pension must be funded, what you are entitled to be told, and what protects your benefit if the sponsor cannot pay. Ask the plan administrator in writing whether the plan is subject to ERISA and whether it is insured by the PBGC, and keep the answer.
The 403(b): your savings
The Catholic Health Services of Long Island 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan is held at Fidelity and accepts before-tax and Roth contributions. The published summaries describe no employer contribution to it. In this design the pension is the employer’s contribution, and the 403(b) is what you add.
Retiree health
Catholic Health’s published benefits materials do not describe retiree health coverage. Ask Human Resources before you set a retirement date, because Medicare generally begins at 65, and a retirement before then needs a plan for the years in between.
Sources for this page: Catholic Health, 2024 pension and 403(b) summary; Catholic Health employee handbook; About Catholic Health; Fidelity, Catholic Health Services of Long Island 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan frequently asked questions; Catholic Health 2025 and 2026 benefits guides; Diocese of Rockville Centre, Pension and retirement (chancery employees); Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, decided June 5, 2017; 29 U.S.C. 1003(b)(2) and 1321(b)(3); Medicare.gov, When does Medicare coverage start. The illustration is arithmetic from the published formula, not a projection of anyone’s benefit. This page is general information, not advice about your situation.
Several of these choices come with deadlines.
Whether you are still earning pension credit, how the pension will be paid and what protects it are questions for your own statement and plan documents. We can go through them in a short conversation.
Book your Retirement ReviewNot ready to book? Answer a few questions about your situation, or send a message.
Booking is handled through Rosefinch Investment Advisors. LI Retirement is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, retirement system, plan sponsor, or employer named on this site.