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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
Q. How can I best contribute to my Retirement account? A. The Board always encourages Church of God employers to contribute in behalf of their employees whenever possible. An employer contribution is sometimes called a "fringe benefit" and is not part of the employee’s taxable income. An employee is also permitted to contribute pre-tax dollars to their retirement account. This is often referred to as a salary reduction and the employer should have a salary reduction agreement, signed by the employee, on file. Contact the Board of Pensions for more information. Q. What does the term "vesting" mean? A. Vesting simply refers to who "owns" the contributions in a retirement account. In some company retirement plans, an employee must work for the employer for a certain number of years before the employee owns the contributions. In the Church of God Retirement Plan, the employee is always 100% vested and, in all cases, owns the funds in his/her account for future retirement benefits. Q. Why are there multiple investment options in the Retirement Plan? A. The Board offers a number of investment options which have been carefully constructed to meet the needs of varying participant ages, time horizons, and risk tolerances. The investment options range from conservative to aggressive growth in nature. The investment options are highly diversified and blended in a way so as to make the investment decision as easy as possible for participants. The plan also allows for investment from a menu of single fund choices for the more knowledgeable who wish to mix their own portfolio. Q. How are the Church of God Investment Options selected? A. The Board works closely with investment manager, Ronald Blue & Co., to achieve highly diversified quality funds. Q. How often do I receive statements? A.
Statements are printed and mailed quarterly. Q. How can I obtain information on my retirement account in between statements? A. There are several excellent ways to obtain information. The best way is to call the Board of Pensions (800) 844-8983 where we will be glad to share information or provide retirement estimates. In addition, members can call the 24-hour toll-free TeleTouch line to obtain personal account information. The number is (800) 547-7754. Of course, this website is a great place to get the information you need. You can access your account in a secure environment. Just click on the "Personal Account Login" button on our Home page. A. The Board’s assets are significant today and require top-notch oversight. Principal is one of the world’s largest financial services companies and works with many of the largest companies as well as a number of church retirement plans. Through their work, the Board of Pensions is able to secure some of the best money managers and mutual funds available in the market. Ronald Blue and Co. provides investment monitoring and counsel to the Board of Trustees. Q. Who governs the Retirement Plan? A.
The Retirement Plan has a Board of Trustees which has ten members.
The Board, through ratification by the General Assembly of the
Church of God, selects persons from both the clergy and lay
ranks of the Church of God, each of whom bring specific
financial and administrative skills as volunteers. The Board of
Pensions is then accountable for its work to the General
Assembly of the Church of God through the Ministries Council of
the Church of God.
A. If you die prior to the time you receive payment of any of your retirement benefits under the Plan, your surviving spouse will be entitled to the ownership of the account. If you have no spouse, your account balance will be paid in a lump sum distribution to your beneficiary, or to your estate if there is no beneficiary designated. See the Plan Document for more details. Q. What happens if I die after I have begun to receive retirement benefits? A. The plan is very flexible in providing a wide spectrum of retirement options. From annuities to installments to periodic distributions elected by the member, the various options allow the participant to determine the best method of payments. Review the Plan Document or Summary Booklet for more detail, or call the Board for a copy of the Retirement Decisions workbook. Q. How does the "minister’s housing allowance" work? A. This feature of the tax law provides a tremendous benefit for ministers. Section 107 of the IRS code permits a minister of the gospel to exclude from gross income a church designated housing allowance. Further, a special Revenue Ruling by the IRS (Rev. Rul. 75-22) allows the Board of Pensions to designate the housing allowance for retired ministers as coverage applicable to their church retirement income. Call the Board of Pensions for more information. Q. How do I know if I am putting away enough money for retirement? A. The Board provides some wonderful tools to help you answer this question. A retirement income worksheet is available upon request. The worksheet has all the tables and calculations to help you know if you are contributing enough. You can also find helpful retirement planning tools and calculators by clicking on Investment Information in the menu above. If you have questions or need help, feel free to contact the Board. |
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Board of
Pensions of the Church of God |
