A modern 403(b)(9) platform with lower fees, automated payroll funding, and housing allowance done right. Because the people who care for your church deserve a retirement plan that cares about them.
The 403(b)(9) space has been stuck in place for decades. Legacy providers charge hidden fees, rely on paper-based funding, and leave pastors with tools that feel frozen in time.
Church retirement plans often come with fund expense ratios 10x higher than modern alternatives — quietly eroding pastors' savings year after year.
Many providers still require physical checks to fund contributions. No API integrations, no automated payroll sync — just manual work every pay period.
The ministerial housing allowance is one of the most valuable retirement benefits pastors have — yet most platforms treat it as an afterthought instead of a core feature.
Shorebird brings modern technology, thoughtful design, and fiduciary care together in one place — so your church can offer a better benefit without the administrative burden.
We handle the plan documents, custody setup, and onboarding. You get clarity from day one.
Connect your payroll system once. Contributions flow automatically after every pay run.
Curated, low-cost index funds. No proprietary products, no layered fees, no surprises.
Distributions designated as housing allowance in retirement — the way a church plan should.
We built Shorebird because we saw — up close — how outdated the church retirement space had become. This is what we wish existed for the churches we serve.
Choose whether the church covers the cost or participants do. Either way, our fees are a fraction of what legacy providers charge — and you'll always know exactly what you're paying.
No more physical checks. No more manual reconciliation. Contributions flow from payroll to participant accounts automatically, every pay period.
A clean, mobile-friendly dashboard that your staff can actually understand and use — not a portal designed in 2003.
Shorebird is a registered investment advisor. We act as a fiduciary on behalf of your participants, selecting investments with their long-term interest in mind.
403(b)(9) church plans are exempt from ERISA — which means less compliance burden and lower cost. We built everything around that reality from day one.
Pastors receive housing allowance designations on retirement distributions without the paperwork shuffle. It's how a church plan should work.
Shorebird began because we kept running into the same problem. We work with churches of every size, and every time we touched a 403(b)(9) plan, it felt like stepping back in time — paper checks, opaque fees, clunky portals, and housing allowance questions that nobody wanted to answer.
Pastors and church staff give their lives to the people they serve. The least we can do is give them a retirement plan that treats them with the same care. That's what we're building.
We're building Shorebird thoughtfully and deliberately. Leave your email and we'll reach out as soon as there's something to share.
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