About Us
The Pension Fund serves the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by supporting ministers, missionaries and lay employees of the church and its related organizations.
For over 100 years, first as the Board of Ministerial Relief and then as the administrator of the Pension Plan, it has sought to undergird the church and its ministry. Change and growth of the Pension Fund have continually broadened and deepened its ministry.
Today it administers one of the strongest pension systems of any denomination. All employees of the church and its institutions are eligible for Pension Plan membership. The Pension Plan is a fully funded and actuarially sound system. It provides benefits in the event of death or disability as well as retirement.
In addition to the high rate of guaranteed accrual for retirement, on a compounded basis, pensions and pension credits have been increased by 106.6% over the past ten years by "Special Apportionments." To illustrate, this will mean a pensioner who began receiving a benefit of $1,000.00 per month in 1994 will begin receiving a pension of $2,066.00 per month effective July 1, 2005. This is an average annual increase of 7.53%.
The Pension Fund also administers the Ministerial Relief and Assistance Fund. Separate from the Pension Plan, this fund provides supplements to approximately 1,600 persons whose pensions are low because their former salaries were low or whose employers did not always pay pension dues. As of July 1, 2001, contractual pensions plus Supplemental Gifts are $12,400 annually ($9,800 a year for a surviving spouse, based on need and service).
Approximately one-fourth of the annual income for Ministerial Relief and Assistance is received through Basic Mission Finance church offerings. The remainder comes from individual gifts and earnings of the Endowment Fund.
In addition, the Pension Fund assists the church by managing the Churchwide Health Care program and by providing tax, retirement and interim ministry information. Both clergy and lay employees may also utilize the Additional Benefit Accumulation Account, Tax Deferred Additional Benefit Account and Churchwide Accident Insurance program.
Through both contractual and gift programs, the Pension Fund seeks to serve the total church and its ministry