diff --git a/stable/rabbitmq/Chart.yaml b/stable/rabbitmq/Chart.yaml
index 5126eb730a..fc302bddf3 100644
--- a/stable/rabbitmq/Chart.yaml
+++ b/stable/rabbitmq/Chart.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: rabbitmq
-version: 0.4.5
+version: 0.5.0
 description: Open source message broker software that implements the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP)
 keywords:
 - rabbitmq
diff --git a/stable/rabbitmq/README.md b/stable/rabbitmq/README.md
index e6f5b40269..f14101352b 100644
--- a/stable/rabbitmq/README.md
+++ b/stable/rabbitmq/README.md
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ The following tables lists the configurable parameters of the RabbitMQ chart and
 | `rabbitmqVhost`            | RabbitMQ application vhost                              | `/`                                                      |
 | `rabbitmqManagerPort`      | RabbitMQ Manager port                                   | `15672`                                                  |
 | `persistence.enabled`      | Use a PVC to persist data                               | `true`                                                   |
+| `persistence.existingClaim`| Use an existing PVC to persist data                     | `nil`                                                    |
 | `persistence.storageClass` | Storage class of backing PVC                            | `nil` (uses alpha storage class annotation)              |
 | `persistence.accessMode`   | Use volume as ReadOnly or ReadWrite                     | `ReadWriteOnce`                                          |
 | `persistence.size`         | Size of data volume                                     | `8Gi`                                                    |
@@ -85,4 +86,15 @@ $ helm install --name my-release -f values.yaml stable/rabbitmq
 
 The [Bitnami RabbitMQ](https://github.com/bitnami/bitnami-docker-rabbitmq) image stores the RabbitMQ data and configurations at the `/bitnami/rabbitmq` path of the container.
 
-The chart mounts a [Persistent Volume](kubernetes.io/docs/user-guide/persistent-volumes/) volume at this location. The volume is created using dynamic volume provisioning.
+The chart mounts a [Persistent Volume](kubernetes.io/docs/user-guide/persistent-volumes/) volume at this location. By default, the volume is created using dynamic volume provisioning. An existing PersistentVolumeClaim can also be defined.
+
+
+### Existing PersistentVolumeClaims
+
+1. Create the PersistentVolume
+1. Create the PersistentVolumeClaim
+1. Install the chart
+```bash
+$ helm install --set persistence.existingClaim=PVC_NAME rabbitmq
+``
+
diff --git a/stable/rabbitmq/templates/deployment.yaml b/stable/rabbitmq/templates/deployment.yaml
index 29f322eeac..8a26147f94 100644
--- a/stable/rabbitmq/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/stable/rabbitmq/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ spec:
       - name: data
       {{- if .Values.persistence.enabled }}
         persistentVolumeClaim:
-          claimName: {{ template "fullname" . }}
+          claimName: {{ .Values.persistence.existingClaim | default (include "fullname" .) }} 
       {{- else }}
         emptyDir: {}
       {{- end -}}
diff --git a/stable/rabbitmq/templates/pvc.yaml b/stable/rabbitmq/templates/pvc.yaml
index 321f464a66..0d10937e23 100644
--- a/stable/rabbitmq/templates/pvc.yaml
+++ b/stable/rabbitmq/templates/pvc.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{- if .Values.persistence.enabled }}
+{{- if and .Values.persistence.enabled (not .Values.persistence.existingClaim) }}
 kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
 apiVersion: v1
 metadata:
diff --git a/stable/rabbitmq/values.yaml b/stable/rabbitmq/values.yaml
index d65ce44b6e..5b4dbbd38c 100644
--- a/stable/rabbitmq/values.yaml
+++ b/stable/rabbitmq/values.yaml
@@ -56,6 +56,12 @@ rabbitmqManagerPort: 15672
 
 persistence:
   enabled: true
+
+  ## A manually managed Persistent Volume and Claim
+  ## Requires persistence.enabled: true
+  ## If defined, PVC must be created manually before volume will be bound
+  # existingClaim:
+
   ## If defined, volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class: <storageClass>
   ## Default: volume.alpha.kubernetes.io/storage-class: default
   ##