The Episcopal Church Lay Employees' Retirement Plan
For those in the defined benefit plan, the amount of the annual basic pension benefit is determined at the time of retirement, based on years of credited service and highest average compensation.
Credited Service (CS) is the number of years for which you have 1,000 or more hours of service. Years served before your employer enrolls in the plan are not counted.
Highest Average Compensation (HAC) is the average of your total compensation for the highest-paid seven out of eight consecutive years you participate in the plan. If you participate for fewer than eight years, your HAC is the average of your total compensation for the years you participate.
Your annual retirement benefit is calculated according to this formula:
CS x HAC x 1.5% = Annual Benefit
For example, if you retire with 30 years of credited service and highest average compensation of $25,000, your yearly benefit is calculated as follows:
30 x $25,000 x 1.5% = $11,250
Every year, 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.