US President Donald Trump signed the Clergy Act on 20 October 2026, allowing eligible priests, pastors and other religious workers to reverse previous Social Security exemptions.
The law offers a path towards future retirement and Medicare benefits, but neither is automatic. The change affects clergy who opted out of Social Security taxes on their ministerial earnings, sometimes early in their careers. Those decisions were generally irreversible, apart from limited opportunities previously authorised by Congress, including one in 1999.
