Six Guiding Principles for Creating a New Clergy Pension Plan
- Retirement benefits should provide financial security in relation to years served in the ministry.
- Recognize shared responsibility among:
- Church
- Participant
- Government (Social Security)
- The Church should be responsible for funding core pension benefits.
- Core pension benefits should be equitable for all clergy.
- Core pension benefits should be adequate for the majority.
- New program must be cost-appropriate.
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A Historical Look at the Making of a New Clergy Pension Plan
The origins of the proposed plan go back to 1996. Following the General Conference of that year, the General Board convened the Benefits 2000 Task Force to review and analyze the Church's current benefits plans. Benefits 2000 recommended no changes to MPP but did suggest "that the General Board study the feasibility of bringing a defined benefit or cash balance pension plan design for consideration by the 2004 session of General Conference."
Benefits 2000 recommended consideration of a new pension plan based on important "foundational statements" about United Methodist benefits, which have since been articulated into the guiding principles (shown here on the right).
Following the 2000 General Conference, the General Board convened another task force, Benefits 2004, to continue the work of its predecessor. The Benefits 2004 Task Force brought together board members, General Board staff and outside benefits experts to review MPP and begin an examination of a possible defined benefit plan to replace it.
After many meetings and several important listening events, where individuals and groups from around the denomination were invited to comment on any proposed changes, the Task Force proposed a strategic pension plan design for clergy that included both defined benefit and defined contribution elements. The board of directors endorsed the strategic pension plan at its November 2002 meeting.
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