• Adoption Agreements for 2021
• CARES Act Update—Senate Passes PPP Flexibility Act of 2020
• Weekly Updates to Participants

Adoption Agreements for 2021

Wespath recognizes that many of you are planning to hold annual conference meetings virtually this year or in the fall. We request that you try to keep to the normal annual timing for submitting 2021 adoption agreements as much as possible to ensure fall actuarial reports reflect the final 2021 Past Service Rates (PSR). If the rates are not final due to a delayed annual conference meeting, you may add a comment to that effect with your adoption agreement submission. We apologize for any challenges caused by the approaching deadline for adoption agreement submissions.

Please complete and submit the following documents:

• By June 22—Grant Continuation and Approval Report, which was e-mailed to conferences on May 28 and 29, 2020
• By June 26—Adoption Agreement Supplement One—CRSP (Pre-82 Plan), indicating the Past Service Rate (PSR) and Contingent Annuitant Percentage for 2021 that were approved (or expected to be approved) at annual conference, even if they have not changed from the 2020 rates

If you are making changes for 2021, please also complete and submit:

• By June 26—Adoption Agreement for the Clergy Retirement Security Program (CRSP), indicating annual conference elections for part-time and full-time clergy effective January 1, 2021
• By June 26—Adoption Agreement for Conference Sponsorship of Clergy in the United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP), indicating annual conference elections for UMPIP sponsorship (participant and/or plan sponsor contributions) for clergy effective January 1, 2021*

If you are not making changes to CRSP or UMPIP, you do not need to submit adoption agreements for those plans for 2021; your current elections will continue to apply.

Please contact:

• Your plan sponsor manager with questions about the conference adoption agreements.
• Ronjerria Love at 1-847-866-4312 or rlove@wespath.org with questions about the grant report.

*If your annual conference is adopting UMPIP Automatic Features for the first time effective January 1, 2021, please contact Sue Peterson at 1-847-866-4229 or speterson@wespath.org.

CARES Act Update—Senate Passes PPP Flexibility Act of 2020

Last night (June 3, 2020) by unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate approved a bill (H.R. 7010) that would modify the rules for the Paycheck Protection (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). As mentioned in the May 28, 2020 On Board Express, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 7010 last week by a vote of 417-1. If signed by the President, H.R. 7010 would make these changes:

• Lengthen the PPP loan forgiveness period from 8 weeks to the earlier of 24 weeks after the date of origination or December 31, 2020, while allowing borrowers to opt out of this extension;
• Lower the percentage of PPP loan proceeds that must be used for payroll costs from 75% to 60%;
• Increase the PPP loan repayment period from 2 years to 5 years (for amounts not forgiven);
• Provide more flexibility for employers who are not able to rehire employees because of the lingering effects of COVID-19—allowing such employers to minimize a reduction in the amount of their PPP loan that is forgivable;
• Extend the PPP loan payment deferral period, and
• Allow employers with PPP loans to take full advantage of the payroll tax deferral provision of the CARES Act. (The original version of the CARES Act prohibited employers from deferring payroll tax payments after they have a PPP loan forgiven.)

Assuming the President signs H.R. 7010 into law following its overwhelming Congressional support, these changes would be effective as of the date of enactment of the CARES Act: March 27, 2020. Hence, the changes described above would appear to apply to existing PPP loans.

If H.R. 7010 becomes law, we will monitor new guidance from the Small Business Administration and update our assistance tools as we are able.

Please note: Documents from Wespath and the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) that were published in the June 3, 2020 On Board Express (i.e., FAQs and Guidance) do not yet reflect the changes in H.R. 7010. Please check On Board Express and Wespath’s COVID-19 legislation webpage soon for updates to our FAQs and Guidance, which will reflect H.R. 7010 and related SBA regulations, before finalizing any loan forgiveness applications. We continue to monitor legislative activity and strive to keep our stakeholders informed

Weekly Updates to Participants

This week's participant e-blast communication was sent yesterday, June 3. In this issue, we share resources available from Wespath and other Church agencies designed to support you during these tumultuous times. The update also includes a sneak peek of the new accounts, profile and distributions screens that will be implemented with the BA enhancement on Saturday and a video that encourages participants to continue prioritizing their physical health even during the quarantine. Click here to view the version sent to HealthFlex participants; click here to view the non-HealthFlex e-mail.

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