Understanding Pension Liabilities—For Local Churches Considering Disaffiliation
Watch this video for easy-to-understand answers to complex questions related to pension plan funding and the withdrawal liability payment required for local churches that disaffiliate from the UMC.
This 18-minute video addresses these and other questions:
- Are the United Methodist clergy pension plans “fully funded”?
- What does fully funded mean when it comes to “pension liabilities”?
- What are the differences between market interest rates and funding interest rates?
- How can the plans be fully funded on a funding basis but not fully funded on a market basis?
- Why is a disaffiliating church required to make the withdrawal liability payment to the annual conference it is leaving?
- Is the withdrawal liability payment an arbitrary or punitive obstacle to disaffiliation?
A podcast version of the same information is also available.
