by Bethelite Elder 11 Replies latest jw friends
I remember a talk from a long time ago (about the time these older Bethelites who have been let go would have been joining) about the proper attitude to have about going to Bethel. The best attitude was to "commit to working at Bethel for life." So it is not surprising that these people thought the commitment went the other way as well; i.e., that they would have a home for life.
Cate
Look at these numbers for someone who gets cut loose from Bethel after giving them 25 good years, gets sick/hurt/downsized and is sent to where the need is greater. Let's assume they earned $5000/yr while pioneering 25-30 years ago and then nothing at Bethel for the last 25 years. The best they can do is $16,000/yr working for a brother and they continue as a pioneer with a small stipend from the WT. At age 62 after working 12 years they will get a whopping $389/mo in SS , $686 at 67 and $906 at age 70. Had they just continued working at minimum wage jobs and kept pioneering all those years at home they would have gotten up to $574/mo at age 62. We don't even want to see the numbers for someone who gets kicked out at 50 and can't earn more than $5000/yr due to poor health or weak job opportunities for the next 12 years- $155/mo at age 62.
