On Board Express Archive || E-Newsletters || Wespath Benefits and Investments Website

Vol. XX, Issue 17

March 26, 2021

COVID-19 Update—Paycheck Protection Program Extension

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was initially created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in late March 2020 and was extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) in December 2020 via additional funding and refinements to further help small businesses, including tax-exempt organizations. Churches and other religious organizations are eligible for PPP loans.

Under the CAA, the PPP’s loan application deadline was March 31, 2021. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have approved the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act to extend the loan application deadline to May 31, 2021. President Biden is expected to sign the bill soon. The extension had strong bipartisan support—receiving a vote of 415-13 in the House and 92-7 in the Senate.

The Act also allows the Small Business Administration 30 days following the extended application deadline to continue reviewing loan applications submitted prior to the deadline.

This PPP extension comes just over two weeks after the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) extended and created other COVID-19 relief measures. Wespath provided a summary of the ARP in a previous update. The ARP was passed through a budget reconciliation process that can be used for certain fiscal legislation. A reconciliation bill can be passed by the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes rather than the 60 votes that would otherwise be required to overcome a filibuster. However, the Senate’s “Byrd Rule” limits what can be included in a reconciliation bill to ensure that it is limited to fiscal measures sufficiently related to the budget. Thus, a PPP extension could not be included in the ARP due to the Byrd Rule, resulting in this separate legislation to extend the PPP.

Earlier this year, Wespath and the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) partnered to develop FAQs to assist local churches, annual conferences, and other Church-related organizations in considering whether to apply for a “Second Draw” PPP loan. You can read the FAQs here.

EY Participant Communications

Beginning in April, EY Financial Planning Services will send periodic electronic communications directly to Wespath participants. Communications will consist of monthly webinar invitations, quarterly newsletters and general financial education information. These communications will better engage participants with direct access to important, timely and targeted financial information from EY. All communications will be reviewed and approved by Wespath prior to sending. Communication timing will also be coordinated with Wespath. Participants will be able to opt out of direct communications from EY at any time.

Conference Forum Follow-Up

Thank you to all the conference representatives who attended the third week of our Conference Forum (March 18). We value your ongoing partnership in serving UMC participants, and are providing copies of the presentations from the event. The Conference Forum—as other communications with the conference benefit officers, treasurers and staff—has provided context to the information provided below. Please consider this as you make decisions about the appropriateness of sharing these materials with those who were not in attendance.

Presentations, videos and handouts from the March 4, March 11 and March 18 Conference Forum events are available here.

Additional Conference Forum details are available here.

Wespath Market Update

Read our latest Wespath Market Update, a weekly investment summary that succinctly recaps economic and financial market activity for the prior week. If you, or others, wish to receive this email update, please send your contact information (name, email and organization) to InvestmentInfo@wespath.org.

Wespath Holiday Closing—Good Friday

Wespath will be closed on Friday, April 2, in observance of Good Friday. Customer service assistance will be unavailable that day.

Benefits Access for participants can be used to access acount 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 Benefit Access Portal for Plan Sponsors and Wespath Institutional Investor Portal will be available to plan sponsors, conferences and institutions.

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