The Episcopal Church Lay Employees' Retirement Plan
The annual retirement benefit is calculated according to a formula based on years of credited service and highest average compensation.
Credited Service (CS) is the number of years for which a member has 1,000 or more hours of service. Years served before an employer enrolls in the plan are not counted.
Highest Average Compensation (HAC) is the average of total compensation for the highest-paid seven out of eight consecutive years an employee participates in the plan. If participation is less than eight years, the HAC is the average of total compensation for the years of participation.
The formula for calculating the basic annual pension is:
CS x HAC x 1.5% = Basic Annual Benefit
For example, if an employee retires with 30 years of credited service and highest average compensation of $25,000, the yearly benefit is calculated as follows:
30 x $25,000 x 1.5% = $11,250
CS x HAC x 1.5 % = Annual Benefit
Every year, usually in January, we mail each plan participant a Personal Information Summary reporting the projected benefit that member will receive upon normal retirement, based on service to date and projected service to normal retirement.