January, 2025
Happy new year to you all as we look forward to a busy and successful year working together to make progress toward developing sustainable retirement plans in your local areas. We are so grateful for your partnership and the work you do on behalf of your pension office, including the support you provide your participants throughout the year. It seems hard to believe that it's already a new year and our first CCP News & Updates posting for 2025 is here. We have a few items to bring to your attention:
Save the Date for the 2025 Central Conference Pension Forum
We are pleased to share we plan to hold our 2025 Forum the week of November 17 in the beautiful country of the Philippines. Our hosts are so excited, and we are confident that you will all experience the great warmth of Filipino hospitality. We have also researched visas and have learned that, except for a few countries, only a simple electronic registration for an e-visa card within 72 hours of arrival is required.
We will be providing more details within the next few months but wanted to give you time to start planning your schedule for the fall of next year. This will be such a wonderful opportunity to experience Filipino culture, and we will work to structure the agenda to ensure that can happen. We hope that you will be able to join us.
Actuarial Valuations, Plan Provisions and Participant Data
Our actuarial consultant, WTW Global, will again be preparing new valuations as of December 31, 2024, on behalf of the CCP program. Please make sure that if there were any changes to your plan and/or plan document that have been implemented since 2022, a copy of the document or other form of documentation is sent to Ross Lundstrom at rlundstrom@wespath.org by Friday, January 24, 2025.
In this valuation, we expect to include a more realistic percentage of church and participant collections over the course of a year. One of the many assumptions within the valuations is contributions are collected in accordance with the plan provisions at a 100% rate. We have certainly heard (and learned) that is not a realistic assessment in most areas and therefore have worked with WTW Global to incorporate a collection rate for each of the plans that more accurately reflects what is truly happening within your area. Your cooperation and help are needed for successful implementation. Michelle Robinson has asked for the following additional information on the most recent quarterly data request:
- Total amount of church contributions for all of 2024
- Total amount of participant contributions for all of 2024
- Currency of the amounts reported
- For informational purposes, are these amounts significantly different from what you would expect to receive in 2025? If so, please provide the anticipated reason for why the collection rates would vary significantly from 2024 to 2025.
We truly appreciate your assistance in helping us provide valuable information to CCP plan sponsors. Many have already provided the information, but for those areas that have not, please respond to and provide Michelle with the required information at your earliest convenience.
Peace and blessings to you, your families and loved ones. May you have a wonderful start to the new year.
Copyright © Wespath Benefits and Investments, a general agency of The United Methodist Church
Share your suggestions and comments about Central Conference Pensions News and Updates e-mail