Board of Pensions 2022 Benefits
The Board of Pensions (BOP) has announced the time frame for employers to select benefits offered to employees for next year. The window is now open for creating your employer agreement for next year with the Board of Pensions (BOP). Employers have through Oct. 8 to select employee benefits and finalize their employer agreement with the BOP for 2022. Full details of 2022 benefit costs are now available by logging into Benefits Connect. Please click here for more information on 2022 benefits offerings and how to create your employer agreement.
Checking your Benefits Accounts
For those who participate in benefits programs from the BOP through your employer, you should be regularly checking your accounts – Benefits Connect for medical/pension and Fidelity if you have a retirement savings account (RSA). You should log in to Benefits Connect, and make sure the salary information submitted by your employer is up to date. If you have an RSA with Fidelity, you should check to make sure your requested contributions – and, if applicable, employer contributions – are being regularly deposited into your account.
PDA responds to the impacts of the earthquake in Haiti
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is in Haiti in response to the recent earthquake. The Presbyterian Mission Agency encourages you to support the work of PDA in Haiti. You may send a donation to PDA, marked for Haiti Earthquake, online, through the mail (Presbyterian Church USA, P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700) or marking your church’s One Great Hour of Sharing offering as Haiti Earthquake.
That Time of Year
It’s beginning to look a lot like…time to begin thinking about/working on next year’s budget. To help with this, we have a couple of resources available to help with your budget development process. First is an article for Church Law & Tax titled “Tips for a More Effective Church Budgeting Process.” It contains key points to remember to help your church have a more successful process and an effective budget that supports your church’s goals. Second is information on creating a narrative budget document. Instead of presenting a budget that has columns, numbers, and a list of line items, a narrative budget tells a story of how the various components of the budget contribute the congregation’s missions and ministries. Please let me know if you would like either or both of these resources.
More Free Information Available from Church Law & Tax
How prepared is your church to handle a variety of situations affecting finances? Church Law & Tax have several free checklists to help churches answer this question. They are here and include:
- “Are We Practicing Safe Fundraising?”
- “Are We Violating Copyright Law?”
- “Do We Follow Sound Employment Practices?”
- “How to Select Church Insurance?”
Post-Pandemic Technology Trends for Churches
We have available an e-book from Protect My Ministry, part of the Ministry Brands family of software companies. This e-book has information about trends across the spectrum of church technology including church management systems, websites, online giving, mobile apps, background screenings, and more. Please let us know if you are interested getting a copy.
Church Financial Leadership Grants Available
From the Presbyterian Foundation: Grants are available to assist pastors to attend continuing education opportunities, which will help them in leading their congregations toward financial and missional vitality. Click for more information. Church stewardship team members are encouraged to apply with their pastors. Download and complete the grant application. Grant applications may take up to four weeks to process.
The Presbyterian Foundation also has additional resources, tools, and other support to provide pastors and church leaders help “to address the financial and leadership challenges of congregational ministry and mission in the 21st century.” We encourage you to visit their website to see what is available and how it may help your church.
From the Board of Pensions Connections Newsletter
The Board of Pensions is offering a new e-learning series, as well as a virtual financial well-being seminar.
The e-learning series is called THRIVE, short for Thinking Retirement: Identity, Vocation, and Economics. It covers subjects such as financial planning and retirement healthcare options as part of a larger exploration of identity, health, and vocation in retirement. It is aimed at benefits members who are 10 or fewer years away from retirement. You can access THRIVE in a number of formats, both online and in person. The e-learning will only be available through the end of the year, so start your course soon.
The webinar, Relationships and Money, runs 2-3:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday, Sept. 15. In this extended Board University webinar, explore how our life experiences shape our financial values and learn how differences in our belief systems about money affect our relationships. Join Tiffany Willis, money coach and retirement specialist with My Secure Advantage, and panelist Rev. Beth Seeger Troy, LMFT, Clinical Director of the Louisville Seminary Counseling Center, as they outline best practices to increase our awareness and improve our communications with friends and family.
Details for these events and video are available at the Board of Pensions website pensions.org.
2021 Special Offerings Calendar
Here is the calendar for the four churchwide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), of which two remain:
PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS: Sept. 5 to Oct. 3
We are now in the time of emphasis on the Peace & Global Witness offering. A gift to the Peace & Global Witness offering enables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of conflict and injustice across the world. Individual congregations are encouraged to utilize up to 25% of this offering to connect with the global witness of Christ’s peace. Mid councils retain an additional 25% for ministries of peace and reconciliation. The remaining 50% is used by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to advocate for peace and justice in cultures of violence, including our own, through collaborative projects of education and Christian witness.
CHRISTMAS JOY: Nov. 28 to Dec. 19