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BENEFITS

The Christian Churches Pension Plan was specifically developed to benefit people whose lives are devoted to vocational service for Christ.  Consider these benefits:

  • The Plan is simple.
  • Annual affordable contribution of $750 per unit ($200 quarterly)
  • Defined Benefit is determined by age of enrollment
  • The Plan is portable—you can take it with you if you change ministries/jobs.
  • The Plan vests in just one year.
  • The Plan is cost-effective, allowing it to offer the industry’s highest committed rate of return.
  • The Plan is stable.
  • Overseen by a Board of Governors elected by Plan Participants from among Plan Participants.
  • The Plan maintains relationships with attorneys who review Plan documentation and with actuaries who review the plan for fiscal soundness.
  • The plan features multiple seasoned asset managers that strategically seek asset diversification.
  • Participants may subscribe to multiple units. Annual contributions by the church or institution on behalf of the minister or employee are neither taxable nor subject to Social Security tax to the member.
  • Ordained persons will have 60% of the amount they receive at retirement treated as parsonage allowance.

Benefits Table

Use the chart below to estimate your total monthly retirement income. The amounts shown are examples based upon enrollment on your birthday and participation through age 65. The precise amount of your benefit is calculated from the actual date of enrollment through the date participation ceases.

Example 1: If you enroll at age 21, you will receive $880 per month at the age of 65.
For additional units, just add the applicable number of units to determine monthly retirement income.

Example 2: If enrolled at the age of 30, you will receive $595 per month. Perhaps an additional unit is added at age 40; it will pay $300 per month. Add one more unit at the age of 50, and you receive an additional $120. The total of the three units is $1,015 per month.

You may choose any number of units you desire.

Note: This example benefit chart is based upon enrollment on the specific noted birthday and continuous participation after enrollment.

21- $880

22- 860

23- 840

24- 820

25- 800

26- 780

27- 760

28- 740

29- 720

30- 595

 31- $578

32- 561

33- 544

34- 527

35- 405

36- 391

37- 378

38- 364

39- 358

40- 300

 41- $288

42- 276

43- 264

44- 252

45- 200

46- 190

47- 180

48- 170

49- 160

50- 120

 51- $112

52- 104

53- 96

54- 88

55- 60

56- 54

57- 48

58- 42

59- 36

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VESTING

Uniform annual contribution

The current annual contribution is $750 per year per unit ($200 quarterly), well within the financial capability of every congregation. Participants may subscribe to multiple units. Annual contributions by the church or institution on behalf of the minister or employee are neither taxable or subject to Social Security tax to the member. The Plan cannot receive pension payments after age 65 for ministers or employees.

Although the Plan has historically charged (and intends to continue to charge) the annual/quarterly amounts listed above, the required contribution could vary depending on investment return, mortality, age distribution, and other factors. Any variation in the cost of a contribution unit will be determined by actuarial analysis.

Immediate vesting

A member is vested when one full year’s contribution ($750) has been credited to him or her. This means that a member will collect a pension payment when he reaches age 65 even though he or she has been in the Plan for only a single year.

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PORTABILITY

The Plan is portable. As the member moves from one church or institution to another, he or she carries pension credits. Transfer from one church or institution to a new affiliation is simple. It requires only notice to the Plan Administrator of the projected move, and the commitment of the new church or institution to continue contributions on his or her behalf by submitting a signed contract for participation.

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BONUS

Extra Benefits

Extra benefits have been given, in the past, to members who have been in the plan four years or more. This amount is above the benefits noted above and in the Plan document. However, any further distribution of excess funds is not guaranteed but depends upon the Plan’s investment earnings.

NOTE: Each year active members will receive an annual report projecting the scheduled monthly benefit based on continuous service to age 65; the projected monthly income based on accrued contributions; and the projected monthly income assuming the net trust earnings reach certain levels.

Plan Trustee

Presently, the Trustee of the Plan’s assets is the US Bank of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Other co-trustees or successor trustees may be retained by the Board to manage some or all of the Plan’s assets. Only banks or similar financial institutions, supervised by the federal or state government, are eligible to be Trustees.

Plan Asset Management

Diversification is a key responsibility for the fiduciaries of any retirement plan. The assets of The Christian Churches Pension Plan are diversified according to asset managers, investment philosophies, and asset classes.  The Plan assets are divided among and managed by the following: