How Credited Service Works

Earning Credited Service for Your Pension

In general, as long as you earn some form of Total Assessable Compensation, you will earn one month of Credited Service under the Clergy Pension Plan for each month that your employer is billed for and pays the monthly Assessment (including interest, if applicable) in full. If your employer only partially pays (or does not pay) the Assessment due, you will not earn any Credited Service for that month.

If you are employed by multiple employers, you will earn one month of Credited Service if any one of your employers pays its applicable Assessment in full for the month. Please note that you cannot earn more than one month of Credited Service for any particular month.

The longer you serve in compensated positions in the Church, the more Credited Service you will earn and the greater your pension benefit will be, provided all Assessments are paid in full.

Earning Credited Service for the Post-Retirement Health Subsidy

The Credited Service that you earn under the Clergy Pension Plan is also used to determine your eligibility for, and the amount of, the post-retirement health subsidy. CPF provides this post-retirement health subsidy to eligible retired clergy and their eligible spouses or surviving spouses.

Beginning January 1, 2018, only Credited Service earned based on monthly compensation that is equal to or greater than 1/12 of the Hypothetical Minimum Compensation will count toward the post-retirement health subsidy. In other words, your monthly Total Assessable Compensation must equal at least $1,500 (based on the current Hypothetical Minimum Compensation of $18,000 per year) for the Credited Service that you earn under the Clergy Pension Plan to count as Credited Service toward the post-retirement health subsidy. One-time payments are credited only for the month in which they are paid.

If your monthly Total Assessable Compensation is less than 1/12 of the Hypothetical Minimum Compensation, the Credited Service that you earn will count toward your pension but not the post-retirement health subsidy. However, you can personally pay Assessments to a make-up account to earn Credited Service toward the post-retirement health subsidy.

If you experience a break in service and are personally paying Assessments, you must pay Assessments on at least 1/12 of the Hypothetical Minimum Compensation in order to earn Credited Service toward the post-retirement health subsidy.

Please see the Post-Retirement Health Benefits section for more information about the post-retirement health subsidy.

A Guide to Clergy Benefits - English (PDF)
A Guide to Clergy Benefits - Spanish (PDF)
Guide to Clergy Benefits Disclaimer

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