Vol. XV, Issue 33

November 16, 2016

Systems Unavailable—November 17 Early Morning

The Benefits Access Portal for Plan Sponsors (including Contribution Management) will be unavailable Thursday, November 17 from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., Central time as Wespath makes system updates.

We apologize for any inconvenience this outage may cause.

General Conference 2016 Changes Affecting Benefits Access

General Conference 2016 approved legislation to change the definition of compensation to exclude compensation provided in lieu of group health plan coverage. This change applies exclusively to a few annual conferences opting to sponsor an alternative arrangement (i.e., local churches providing additional compensation in lieu of a conference-sponsored group health plan).

All plan sponsors will see these changes in Benefits Access as of November 17:

For Conferences Retaining a Group Health Plan (most annual conferences)

For Conferences with Churches Providing Additional Compensation in Lieu of Group Health Plan

Important: Most conferences will leave the Health Care Compensation field blank. This field is only for conferences that have replaced their group health plans with additional compensation in lieu of group health coverage.

(Note: Similar changes will appear in Benefits Access for Participants, effective December 8.)

If you have questions about Benefits Access, please contact your Wespath plan sponsor manager.

Holiday Closing—Thanksgiving

Wespath will close at 3:00 p.m., Central time, on Wednesday, November 23, and will remain closed through Friday, November 25, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Customer service assistance will be unavailable during this time. However, deposits, redemptions and inter-fund transfers from institutional investors received by noon Central time, on Friday, November 25 will be processed that day. Deposits, redemptions and inter-fund transfers received after noon Central time will be processed on Monday, November 28.

Benefits Access for participants can be used to access account information and make transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, accessible by calling 1-800-851-2201, is also available for participants.

The Wespath Institutional Investor Portal and Benefits Access are available for plan sponsors, conferences and institutions.


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a general agency of The United Methodist Church
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