Retirement

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How We Are Different

Customized Retirement Solutions for Educational Institutions

What are you interested in?

Learn more about how we can guide, advocate and provide for your organization toward a strong financial future, fortifying your steps as you follow God wherever he leads.

Retirement Plan Expertise

Faith-Based Funds & Investments

Employer & Employee Education

Customer Service

Retirement Plan Expertise & Administration

Retirement plans for Christian educators require a plan provider who understands the unique challenges of Christian higher education. GuideStone has been providing retirement services to Christian colleges and universities since the 1940s.

As you balance budgetary considerations with attracting and retaining the best available talent, GuideStone will work with you to identify plan goals and objectives specific to your organization. Our consultative relationship management style will help engage and retain your highly trained, talented employees and drive participant outcomes. We will work with you as your ministry partner, not simply as a vendor. We are here to help you and your employees start well, stay well and finish well.

We know the unique needs of educational institutions, such as:
  • 403(b) and 401(k) plan expertise
  • Deferred compensation plans
  • Impactful plan design
  • Fiduciary governance
  • Open Architecture that Includes faith-based funds
  • Investment Policy Statement
  • Online Enrollment and contribution changes
  • On-site employee education
  • Robust forecasting tools
  • Housing Allowance Designations reported on Forms 1099-Rs
  • Fiduciary responsibilities
  • Ease of administration

How GuideStone serves Ministry Partners
  • We utilize Omni, a leading provider of recordkeeping software for retirement plans of all sizes.
  • We provide an online employer portal — the GuideStone Employer Access® Program (EAP)
  • We offer Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
  • We work with many payroll providers to help administer retirement plans effectively.

Video: Plan Design Made for Ministry

See how GuideStone church plan design encourages plan participation, helps members strategically save for the future, accounts for unique ministerial considerations and keeps ministry in mind through every step.
View Retirement Plan Design

Faith-Based Funds & Flexible Investment Options

See Faith-Based Investing

Faith-Based Screened Funds

GuideStone Funds® offers a comprehensive lineup of diversified mutual funds that integrate Christian values with fundamental investment analysis.

Through faith-based investing with GuideStone, Christian investors can pursue three key goals with their investments:
  • All believers honor the Lord with their investments and their lives.
  • Christian ministries and individuals have all they need to grow the Kingdom, and the Gospel is heard throughout the world.
  • God’s people have a meaningful impact on the sanctity of life, human dignity and advancement, and the stewardship of God’s creation.

Video: Faith-Based Investing

What is faith-based investing, and why is it important to Christians? Faith-based investing allows you to invest the financial resources God has given you in a way that honors him and advances his Kingdom.

Flexible Investment Options

People are individuals. Risk tolerances are unique.

We understand that your teams’ investment knowledge and interests vary greatly from person to person. That’s why we walk alongside you to determine the best investment framework to meet the needs of you and your team. Proudly featuring GuideStone Funds, our comprehensive, tiered investment menu allows plan participants to easily identify an investment approach that works best with their time, interest and investment knowledge.

GuideStone offers our plan sponsors investment flexibility, therefore, you can select the GuideStone premier investment lineup or, create a lineup that meets your goals and objectives.
Choose From 3 Options
Do It For Me
Our professionally managed asset allocation options provide a simple choice for those who want a one-step approach to investing. This investment selection includes both Target Date Funds and Target Risk Funds.
Do It Myself
This approach is designed to help them build their own portfolio utilizing a broad range of core and specialty funds that provide the flexibility to address specific investment strategies.
Do It Together
We offer a range of customized financial planning services, tailored investment strategies and ongoing investment management for those looking for a higher level of service.

Video: Investment Options

Learn more about being appropriately invested. Do you know what you need to consider in order to invest better for retirement? Watch this video to find out!
View Investment Options

Employer & Employee Education

GuideStone understands the importance of educating your employees on what it means to be financially resilient. That’s why we strive to provide relevant, ministry-centric, financially focused and useful educational resources for you and your team.

Resources

We provide the below resources to support both your organization and your plan participants along their retirement journey to start well, stay well and finish well.
Videos
View More Educational Resources
Thumbnail picture of Impacting Investing video
Impact Investing
As Christians, we are called by Christ to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). As Christian investors, we see Kingdom impact investing as an opportunity to be salt and light. Learn more about our impact investing strategies in this short video.

For Investment professional and Institutional Investor use only.
What is Minister's Housing Allowance?
Video • 5/14/2024
What is Minister's Housing Allowance?
Minister’s housing allowance is arguably the most important tax benefit available to ministers, allowing them to exclude housing expenses from their ministerial income, before and after retirement.
How Do I Steward a Reasonable, Yet Market-based Pastor Salary?
Video • 2/6/2024
How Do I Steward a Reasonable, Yet Market-based Pastor Salary?
When pastors answer the call to ministry, it’s usually not with the expectation of major financial gain. But that doesn’t mean they should be expected to live on a wage that doesn’t meet their needs. Unfortunately, pastor pay has remained almost completely flat in recent years, while at the same time, inflation has continued to climb.

Customer Service

Relationship Management

We are more than a provider of retirement benefits, we are a ministry partner.

GuideStone provides top-notch service to ministry partners and the teams within their ministries and organizations. Our mission is to enhance financial security and resilience for those who serve the Lord. We do this through developing strong relationships with the leadership in the organizations we serve while providing them with tools and resources to help their plan participants finish well.

Our vision is that every servant of Christ finishes well.
How do we work with you to serve your people well?
Financial Specialists
Financial educators, relationship managers and Certified Financial Planner™ professionals are available to help plan administrators and participants with their retirement needs.
Annual Plan Reviews
Annual Plan Reviews with a relationship manager.
On-site or Virtual Meetings
On-site or virtual meetings available with a relationship manager.

GuideStone Member Customer Service

At GuideStone, our ministry work begins when we care for ministry partners and their teams through dedicated and diligent customer service.

Ministries face unique challenges, and our unmatched experience with church plans allows us to understand these needs and provide the expertise and service specific to you. Our customer solutions specialists help provide a 97% first-call resolution rate!

See what our current members and ministry partners say about their GuideStone experience:
  • 12,000 recent survey responses from members show 98% are satisfied, with nearly 80% “very satisfied”.
  • 3 words members use most to describe us: “Trustworthy, reliable, helpful.”
  • 97.10% first call resolution rate when members call Customer Solutions.

In addition to top-notch service, our dedicated service teams work directly with you to provide effective plan design and ministry-specific tools and resources to prepare your employees for a strong retirement.

View Ministerial Resources Center

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You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the GuideStone Funds® before investing. A prospectus with this and other information about the Funds may be obtained by calling 1-888-GS-FUNDS (1-888-473-8637) or downloading one. It should be read carefully before investing.