Pension Fund Proposal Update

Since 1939 the CRCNA has provided a defined-benefit plan for ministers of the Word, mandated by synod to do the following:

• Enable ministers to serve in Canada and the United States while maintaining consistent retirement benefits
• Mitigate the impact of serving a smaller congregation
• Honor the covenant of the denomination to care for pastors with long-term disability protection and enhanced survivor benefits

Currently the U.S. and Canada Pension Trustees are managing pension benefits for over 2,000 ministers and surviving spouses, with funds totaling over $200,000,000. Funding these benefits is a difficult and large-scale undertaking, which is why in 2024 the CRCNA placed the management of the plan with CEB Services, led by John Bolt, the CRCNA’s former director of finance and administration.

God’s guidance of these plans has been apparent as they have continued to fund all benefit payments without an increase to U.S. church contributions since 2011. Canadian churches saw significant fluctuation to contribution amounts in the same time period, to address solvency concerns. Both plans saw healthy investment gains from 2011 to the present.

This year, after careful reviews by CEB Services and the U.S. and Canada Pension Trustees, the U.S. and Canada Pension Boards are recommending a slate of changes to the plan designed to provide good management of the unique conditions of the U.S. and Canadian plans, seeking to ensure that the plans remain viable in the coming years.

In addition to proposed increases to pastor benefits, the changes also propose clear benchmarks for further changes, such as fund performance and the number of ministers in the system, in order to maintain the plan through minor and more frequent updates.

Summary of Key Changes

Synod 2026 will consider the following changes to the U.S. and Canada Pension Funds.

The proposed changes start by establishing guidelines for future decision-making based on the following definitions:

• Adequacy: “The U.S. and Canadian plans will be designed to provide a target replacement ratio at retirement, including retirement income expected to be received from government sponsored sources, of between 75-85% for a member of the plan with 30 years of service at retirement.”
• Funding and benefits policy: “The Trustees will consider making benefit improvements when the plan's funded ratio (maximum amount that can be invested in the pension fund) is greater than 110% and the plan's transfer ratio is greater than 100%. When considering making benefit improvements, the Trustees will consider the long-term sustainability of those improvements. The Trustees shall not make improvements to benefits where those improvements would result in a greater than 25% chance that the projected transfer ratio at 5 and 10 years is less than 90% (i.e., the 75th percentile of the projected transfer ratios at years 5 and 10 must be greater than 90%).”

In the U.S., churches are asked to make a small increase to their contributions to the fund, the first increase since 2011. This increase is required because of increased Final Average Salaries over the past 15 years. The proposed changes will not affect currently retired pastors and surviving spouses. Additionally, the management of the 403(b)(9) plans for pastors and other nonclergy staff members is being transferred to a new provider. 

The trustees considered additional changes to the U.S. plan, similar to the ones provided for the Canadian plan, listed below, but those changes would have run against the funding and benefits policy outlined above.

In Canada, churches will receive a one-year contribution reprieve due to the fund being above target level. There will be a permanent one-time adjustment increasing benefit payments to currently retired Canadian pastors by 1.5% per year of retirement, recognizing that cost-of-living increases over the years affect the “buying power” of a pastor’s pension benefit during the years of their retirement. Finally, an adjustment will be made to the calculation used to determine a newly retiring pastor’s pension benefit, increasing from 75% of the final average salary (FAS) to 85% in that calculation. All of these changes have been carefully considered under the scrutiny of the above definitions and conditions to allow for these changes to be made.

Overall, the proposed changes to the Canadian plan see increases for current retirees, increases for future retirees, and a benefit for congregations by providing a one-year contribution reprieve. More information about exactly how this affects Canadian pastors with pending retirement plans will be available in the Agenda Supplement for Synod 2026 and in an upcoming guide being developed by the CRCNA after receiving notice of the proposed changes from the Pension Trustees.

Daryl DeKlerk, chair of the Canada Pension Trustees, and Drew Sweetman, chair of the U.S. Pension Trustees, reported, “The Ministers Pension Fund (MPF) Trustees would like to issue notice to Canadian pastors considering retirement in 2026/2027 that changes to the plan are being forwarded to Synod 2026 that could have an effect on their retirement plans.”

DeKlerk added, “The Canadian MPF investments have performed well in recent years. This has allowed the Trustees to consider positive plan changes.”

Brian Meekhof, a member of Lee Street CRC in Wyoming, Mich., noted, “Having the Ministers Pension Fund for ordained pastors in the CRCNA is a valuable benefit for those individuals who have worked to pastor our members. Churches also have other dedicated staff who work diligently to support pastors and members by keeping the church operating on a day-to-day basis, often at below-market pay. We have the responsibility to provide all church staff with this opportunity to set aside funds to assist them in retirement. The 403(b)(9) plan is an excellent way to show our appreciation to all church staff and to walk with them as they plan for retirement.”

Next Steps

At this time, all of the proposed changes mentioned above have been approved by the U.S. and Canada Pension Trustees but will not be final until approved by Synod 2026. Full details will be provided in the Agenda Supplement. The CRCNA will soon release a guide to those changes and how they may affect a specific minister or church, including the following:

• Proposed changes that may allow for higher benefits for ministers serving Canadian churches who retire in 2027
• Proposed changes that include retroactive increases for already retired members based on years of retirement;
• Benchmarks for how the plan will be governed and how decisions will be made going forward

Current summaries of plan information are available at crcna.org/MinistersPension.