226th General Assembly (2024)

As a national agency of the General Assembly, the Board of Pensions appears as a General Assembly-related corporate body in the Organization for Mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (VII A). The General Assembly Nominating Committee nominates members of our Board of Directors, who must then be elected by the General Assembly. Our Board of Directors elects our President, and the General Assembly must confirm the election.

The Board of Pensions is a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The agency and its Directors and Officers, as trustees of the Benefits Plan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), hold the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care. They must make decisions solely and exclusively for the benefit of plan members, active and retired, and their survivors.

The origin of Board of Pensions responsibilities lies in the denominational reunion of 1983. Article 11 of the Articles of Agreement Between the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, found in the Book of Order, states that the new, unified pension, benefits, and assistance programs

“… shall be administered by a legally responsible corporate body established under a civil charter and having no responsibilities other than to administer these plans and programs and to assume the responsibilities of the former Board of Annuities and Relief of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the former Board of Pensions of The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.” (11.3)

Article 11 also defines our legal obligation to make independent decisions about the investment of funds held in trust for tens of thousands of Benefits Plan members — some of whom are receiving retirement benefits today and some who will not receive them for decades:

Scripture speaks to the need to work together. “A threefold cord is not quickly broken,” as the teacher in Ecclesiastes says (4:12). Collaboration and a shared sense of mission are key themes in our Presbyterian and reformed identity, and the Board of Pensions collaborates within our denomination as well as ecumenically.

In 2018, we began collaborating with the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) on the annual Mid Council Leaders Gathering, which replaced our two Regional Benefits Consultations and OGA’s Polity Conference — yielding savings totaling about $400,000. In 2020, the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) joined the collaboration, and in 2023, the meeting became the Polity, Benefits, and Mission Conference.

Collaboration with PMA is growing. Together, we engaged People Joy’s EdAssist to help Church ministers and employees navigate a federal opportunity for education-debt relief. More recently, we joined the team launched by PMA’s Committee on Theological Education to pursue research into thriving congregations and their pastoral leadership. This work dovetails with an all-agency effort to align our production of data so we have comprehensive facts and statistics on the challenges facing the Church and can better meet them.

We have a longstanding relationship with the Presbyterian Foundation, including on funds development. Significantly, in 2015, we collaborated on grant applications to the Lilly Endowment, with each agency receiving $1 million to address pastors’ financial challenges and an additional $1 million to take the programs to scale. The result was approximately $10 million in grants to ministers and education for over 4,000 elders on the financial challenges facing ministers. The Foundation and the Board also collaborate on the annual Well-Being Retreat and have worked together on the Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference.

More broadly, our Church Consultants provide personalized, local support to congregations, mid councils, ministers, and church-related employees. That support expanded in 2022, when the Reverend Dr. Jerry L. Cannon joined the Board. Dr. Cannon, who also serves on the denomination’s Diverse Voices Table, is extending the reach of our services and existing programs, such as dues incentives, to communities of color.

Collaboration beyond the denomination enhances our service to Benefits Plan members. The Board is a leader in the Church Benefits Association (CBA), which represents 55 church pension boards, religious orders, and denominational benefits programs for clergy and church professionals. The CBA shares best practices in the design and implementation of benefits plans and forms benefits-buying coalitions, which gives us negotiating clout. For example, with CBA, we are Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s largest single customer.

Further, the Board of Pensions advocates for benefits for clergy, lay workers, and their families as part of the Church Alliance. The Alliance is a diverse network of nearly 35 church benefits CEOs that engages governmental agencies in the legislative, regulatory, and judicial processes on behalf of its member organizations. The President of the Board of Pensions serves as one of six permanent members of the Church Alliance Steering Committee. The Church Alliance was a powerful advocate during the coronavirus crisis, working directly with U.S. Sen. James Langford, R-OK, to include congregations in the Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness. PC(USA) congregations, mid councils, and agencies received $50 million to $90 million in direct support to retain employees.