On April 2, 1869, the conference agency appointed to administer to the
needs of the preachers in the predecessor Philadelphia Conference was
incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania as the Preachers Aid Society
of the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Pension Plan through the General Board began as a Defined Benefit
Plan with a formula which rewarded years of service multiplied by an annuity
rate. Initially the annuity rates were not equalized. The annuity rate
in 1910 was $7 per year of service.
For 1970 the annuity rate per years of service was $60 for former Eastern
Conference pensioners and $90 for former Philadelphia pensioners. Following
1970 the rate for years of service would be the same for all participants
regardless of former affiliation.
The increase yearly in annuity rates was at the expense of funding, so
that by 1976 the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference had an unfunded liability
of $13,104,157.
In 1974 the Employee Retirement Security Income Act (ERISA) spoke to
the problem of unfunded liabilities of commercial plans and set new standards
for pension funds. Even though church pension funds did not qualify under
ERISA, the church leaders of pension funds felt that the unfunded liability
was increasing dramatically each year, especially with the Disciplinary
suggestion of a standard annuity rate increase of 1%.
In 1978, the annuity rate was equalized for former Evangelical United
Brethren pensioners.
The General Conference of 1980 mandated that the Disciplinary provisions
of the Ministerial Pension Plan are binding upon all annual conferences
that comprise the church. Even though the plan design allows some flexibility
to each annual conference through the adoption of several different options,
this is the first time that the whole church becomes bound together in
a benefit support system for its clergy.
In 1982, the General Board converted to a Defined Contribution Plan,
with benefits paid into by the local church based on the compensation
of the clergy.
In 1986, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference asked the Board of Pensions
to take over the administration of the health plans offered by the conference.
The Board agreed, and became officially, The Eastern PA Conference Board
of Pension and Health Benefits.
In 1998, The General Board introduced the Personal Investment Plan, whereby
clergy could contribute to their own pension fund, and choose how that
money would be invested from a number of options: Diversified Investment
Fund, Domestic Stock Fund, Domestic Bond Fund, Money Market Plus Fund,
Balanced Social Values Plus Fund and International Stock Fund.
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