Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Advent greetings to you in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
I am emailing today with some great news. On behalf of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CFA), Board of Pension, and Insurance Committee, I am pleased to report to you that we have met our funding goal for both retiree pension and health care!
We have been working to reach this funding goal since 1991 as dedicated laity and clergy have worked to develop plans, raise funding, and plan benefits that are both beneficial to retirees and sustainable. That hard work, blessed by God’s abundant generosity, has led our conference to a place that we once thought may be impossible to reach. Thank you to our laity, clergy, and local churches for your attention to careful stewardship that has brought us to this place.
We are happy to let you know that meeting our funding goal earlier than expected means that we will not collect Past Service Liability apportionments from local churches in 2019. The apportionment report you received in July included an amount for the Past Service Liability apportionment, and you will receive a new report over the next several weeks that will remove that apportionment. While it would have been ideal to know this information in July, several conditions have come together recently to allow your conference CFA, Board of Pension, and Insurance Committee to make this decision.
We trust that your local church ministries will be strengthened and perhaps expanded with this change in the apportionment report. Removing this apportionment line from our conference budget does not change our assumptions for future benefits for retirees as outlined in the Board of Pension’s report to annual conference.
Thank you for your part in bringing this good news to our shared ministry! Every church, layperson, and pastor has been part of this effort, and we rejoice with you in meeting this significant milestone for our conference. If you have any questions or concerns about the funding plan, retiree benefits, or the Past Service Liability apportionment, please do not hesitate to call or email.
In Christ,
Christine Dodson
Conference Treasurer