UM News | Oct. 11, 2022
The General Council on Finance and Administration board recently approved a change with an eye toward helping agencies in this time of tight budgets.
At its online meeting Sept. 30, the board voted to adjust the distribution of the Benefit Trust, used by agencies to cover the employer costs related to active and retiree health care plans.
General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking body, established the Benefit Trust in 1996 as a wasting trust. That means its assets are depleted over time as the agencies receive their payouts. The Benefit Trust has an annual distribution that typically increases by 2% every 15 years.
The distribution is currently at 6% of the previous year’s ending balance and was originally set to increase to 8% in 2027.
The GCFA board on Sept. 30 voted to move up the rate of distribution to 8% starting next year and delay the next distribution increase to 10% from 2042 to 2046.
As a result of the move, GCFA and Wespath staff said, agencies will receive roughly the same amount of financial help for benefits next year as in 2022. Modeling also shows that when the distribution schedule resumes in 2046, the effect on the fund balance will be negligible.
Read General Council on Finance and Administration press release.