The survey, dated July 31, was released in mid-September by the National Religious Retirement Office, which oversees the annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection in U.S. dioceses in December. What's helped out even more is the success of the stock market, according to Sister Andree Fries, a Sister of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon, Mo., who is head of the National Religious Retirement Office. Even so, the religious orders' investments are more conservative than the stock market as a whole, meaning they could have had more money over the past two years, said Christian Brother John Patzwall, associate director of the office. Some of that, he added, may be attributed to some orders withdrawing funds to pay for their members' retirement needs.
Demographics can alter the picture for future years.
However, the conservative nature of the orders' investments, if well diversified, could mitigate that effect, he added. In 1999, close to 49 percent of the United States' 70,000 sisters were under age 70 and, therefore, presumed to be in active ministry. But by the year 2011, only 40 percent of projected 47,000 sisters will be under 70. The Arthur Andersen survey illustrated the situation by using the example of a fictitious order in which 93 of its 170 members are over age 70. A June report from the National Religious Retirement Office report showed a variety of ways religious orders have achieved success in trimming the cost of care for retired members.