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On Dec. 23, 2025, Sacramento’s leading daily newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, published an article about the benefits of the Clergy Act, a bill that the Church Alliance supports.

The Clergy Act would apply to clergy members who have made a usually irrevocable decision to opt out of the Social Security and Medicare programs. The bill would open a temporary window for clergy members to opt back in to paying Social Security and Medicare taxes and receiving commensurate Social Security and Medicare benefits upon retirement.

In an interview for the story, Church Alliance Executive Director Christopher Wells emphasized that the Clergy Act would help brighten the retirement outlook for thousands of clergy who would like to opt back in to public insurance programs. By establishing a pathway for such clergy to remain in their ministerial jobs without jeopardizing their access to needed government benefits, the Clergy Act would help incentivize their continued ministerial service to congregations and communities. The Clergy Act would therefore benefit “all Americans who need the lights to stay on” at religious institutions across the country, Wells said.

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