¶ 637.
Conference Board of Pensions--1. Authorization--There shall be
organized in each annual conference a conference board, auxiliary to the General
Board of Pension and Health Benefits, to be known as the conference board of
pensions, hereinafter called the board, that shall have charge of the
interests and work of providing for and contributing to the support, relief,
assistance, and pensioning of clergy and their families, other church workers,
and lay employees of The United Methodist Church, its institutions,
organizations, and agencies within the annual conference, except as otherwise
provided for by the general board.
2. Membership--a)
It is recommended that the board be composed of not less than twelve members not
indebted to pension and benefit funds, plans, and programs, one-third laywomen,
one-third laymen, and one-third clergy, and in accordance with ¶ 605.3
elected for a term of eight years and arranged in classes as determined by the
annual conference; and in addition thereto, any clergy member of the conference
or lay member of a church within the conference who is a member of the General
Board of Pension and Health Benefits. A vacancy in the membership of the board
may be filled by the board for the remainder of the conference year in which the
vacancy occurs, subject to the same qualifications before provided; and at its
next session the conference shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the
unexpired term.
b) The members shall
assume their duties at the adjournment of the conference session at which they
were elected.
3. Organization--The board
shall organize by electing a chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, and
treasurer, who shall serve during the ensuing quadrennium or until their
successors shall have been elected and qualified. These officers shall
constitute an executive committee; provided, however, that three members
may be added thereto by the board. The duty of the executive committee shall be
to administer the work of the board during the conference year in the interim
between regular or special meetings of the board. The office of secretary may be
combined with that of treasurer. The treasurer may be a person who is not a
member of the board, in which case the person shall be an ex officio member of
the executive committee, without vote. Calls for special meetings of the board
shall be issued by the secretary on request of the chairperson, or the vice
chairperson when the chairperson is unable to act.
4. Proportional
Payment--The board shall compare the records of the amounts paid by each
pastoral charge for the support of pastors and for pension and benefit programs,
computing the proportional distribution thereof and keeping a permanent record
of defaults of the churches of the conference that have failed to observe the
following provisions pertaining to proportional payment, and shall render
annually to each church that is in default a statement of the amounts in default
for that and preceding
years.80
[FTN] 80. See Judicial
Council Decisions 50, 390, 401, 471.
a) When the apportionment
to the pastoral charges for the pension and benefit program of the annual
conference has been determined, payments made thereon by each pastoral charge
shall be exactly proportionate to payments made on the salary or salaries of the
ordained minister or clergy serving it.
b) The treasurer of the
pastoral charge shall be primarily responsible for the application of
proportional payment; but in the event of the treasurer's failure to apply it,
the pastor shall adjust cash salary and payment according to the proper ratio,
as provided above, before the pastor enters the respective amounts in the
statistical report to the annual conference.
c) The conference
statistical tables shall provide separate columns for reporting the amount
apportioned to each pastoral charge for pension and benefit purposes and the
amount paid thereon.
d) It shall not be
permissible for a pastor to receive a bonus or other supplementary compensation
tending to defeat proportional payment.
5. Reports to the General
Board--The board shall report to the General Board of Pension and Health
Benefits immediately following the session of the conference, in such form as
required by the general board, the names and years of service approved for
pre-1982 pension credit for each eligible person and the names and addresses of
clergy who are members of funds, plans, or programs administered by the general
board.