• 2020 Annual Conference Actions Related to Church Disaffiliations from the UMC
• Reminder to Update Benefits Access
• Wespath Closing Early—Friday, December 18

2020 Annual Conference Actions Related to Church Disaffiliations from the UMC

The denomination has now completed all annual conference sessions. Wespath has learned that some conferences have voted and approved church disaffiliations from the UMC under the approved 2019 General Conference legislation. We will reach out to churches that have been approved by annual conferences to disaffiliate as we learn of these decisions via the normal church data feed received regularly from GCFA.

While we have previously communicated the process for clergy surrendering credentials, we recommend that conference staff review the disaffiliation information, including updated FAQs, on the wespath.org website. This information includes a reminder of how pensions for these clergy will be converted to account balances in the participants' United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP) accounts. Please contact your Client Services Manager if you have any questions.

We would also like to highlight a few other points:

• Conferences should report disaffiliating churches to GCFA using their Church Closure Information form. The closure date listed should reflect when the conference ratified the disaffiliation, not the charge conference/local church decision date. Please contact GCFA if you have questions regarding the form.
• Since the mandatory clergy plan participation end date will generally coincide with the disaffiliation date, Wespath encourages entities to reach out to Wespath to discuss the opportunity to begin or continue offering UMPIP. Sue Peterson, Retirement Services Manager, is available for consultation at 1-847-866-4229 or by e-mail at speterson@wespath.org.

Please contact Sue Peterson with any detailed questions regarding church disaffiliation or your Client Relationship Manager or Client Services Manager with any other questions regarding the items above.

Reminder to Update Benefits Access

As the year-end approaches, we would like to remind all conferences to please be timely with updates to Benefits Access for all participant-related changes effective January 1, 2021. The January 1, 2021 data in Benefits Access is used for the actuarial valuations performed in 2021 for the 2023 contributions. It is important for this data to be accurate and up-to-date.

The January 1, 2021 pay rates entered into Benefits Access impact the 2023 Denominational Average Compensation (DAC), and to the extent this data is not current, the DAC will not be either. Also, updates to appointment percentages for January 1, 2021 impact the 2021 actuarial liabilities and the resulting 2023 contributions. Therefore, it is important that the Benefits Access system is updated timely for January 1, 2021 data changes.

To ensure January billing (CRSP, CPP and UMPIP) is accurate, please update 2021 compensation by the 5th business day of the year (January 7, 2021).

Please contact your Client Relationship Manager or Client Services Manager with any questions.

Wespath Closing Early—Friday, December 18

Wespath will close at 12:30 p.m., Central time, on Friday, December 18, due to our annual staff holiday celebration (virtual event). Customer Service assistance will be unavailable after that time.

Benefits Access for participants can be used to access account information and complete transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The automated phone system, accessible by calling 1-800-851-2201, will also be available for participants.

The Wespath Institutional Investor Portal and Benefit Access Portal for Plan Sponsors will be available to plan sponsors, conferences and institutions.

If an urgent situation arises on Friday after 12:30 p.m., please call 1-847-866-4683 and provide your contact information. A Wespath representative will contact you within 30 minutes.

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