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Benefits Connect Tip:
Benefits Connect is your go-to source for personalized benefits information!
Join the more than 10,000 plan members who have already taken advantage of this secure, convenient site by clicking on the “Register” button under the Benefits Connect logo on the Pensions.org homepage.
You can update your personal and dependent information, get a pension estimate, calculate your total death benefits, and much more. Register today and you’ll also be ready to take advantage of the online statement to be available early next year. (See next article.)
Your Statement of Benefits Mailed in Mid-July
Your Statement of Benefits 2010 was mailed to all active and disabled members who had Traditional Program coverage on January 1, 2010. Personalized statements were also mailed to members who were on the Transitional Participation Basis or were enrolled for Limited Participation on January 1, 2009, and who remained on that status as of January 1, 2010. Please use your statement to review your personal and benefits coverage information, which will help you assess your overall financial situation and plan for retirement.
This year’s statement has been streamlined into an easy-to-follow format as we continue our efforts to provide communications that are easier to understand and to move toward “greener” business practices. To a great extent, this new format previews the online statement of benefits that will be available to most members through Benefits Connect early next year. When the online statement is launched, the Board will no longer automatically mail paper statements; instead, members will be able to print a current statement themselves at any time.
Summer 2010 Issue of The Board Bulletin Available
The summer 2010 issue of The Board Bulletin covers discussion and decisions by the directors of the Board of Pensions at their July 24 meeting in Philadelphia. Highlights include:
- Medical Plan changes are prompted by healthcare reform. The directors approved several amendments to the Medical Plan in order to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Among the amendments was one to provide coverage to the adult children of covered plan members, up to age 26.
- The Board reports on Balanced Investment Portfolio returns. The Board of Pensions reported a negative 1.7% return for the 6 months ended June 30, 2010, and a positive 15.4% return for the 12 months ended June 30, 2010. The Pension Plan is fully funded.
- Special open enrollment for Optional Dental Program will be held. The Board will hold a special open enrollment from October 1 to November 15, 2010, to allow Benefits Plan members who previously declined Optional Dental Program coverage to enroll in the program without the usual coverage restrictions.
If you would like to receive The Board Bulletin by mail and have not already requested this service, please call the Board at 800-773-7752 (800-PRESPLAN) or email your request to Member Services.
The Board To Study Domestic Partner Benefits Eligibility
At its July meeting, the Board of Directors of the Board of Pensions encouraged management to carefully and thoroughly consider the recommendation of the 219th General Assembly (2010) that the Board provide domestic partner benefits and to bring proposals for discussion to its meeting in the summer of 2011 with the intention of making formal recommendations in the fall of 2011. The Board hopes to implement initial changes in 2012.
The Board of Directors was advised that this action will affect many Board constituencies and encompasses an array of complex policy, administrative, and funding issues that need to be resolved before any changes to current Benefits Plan eligibility are implemented.
A press release provides additional information about the Board’s study of this issue.
Clergy Effective Salaries Reports for 2010 Posted
The Board has tabulated a range of effective salary data to assist decision makers in reviewing clergy compensation.
Two reports are available:
2010 Midyear Investment Review Available
The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is pleased to present the 2010 Midyear Investment Review of the Board of Pensions Balanced Investment Portfolio. “Weltanschauung 2010: What is Your Worldview?” provides insight into today’s market conditions, examines investment results for periods ended June 30, 2010, and provides commentary on both the short- and long-term investment horizons and our long-term objectives.
Eligibility Details for Extended Medical Plan Coverage for Adult Children
The recently enacted healthcare reform legislation includes a provision that requires group health plans to extend coverage to adult children up to the age of 26 who do not have access to their own employment-based coverage, regardless of their financial dependency, student status, marital status, or residency. The required effective date of this provision for the Medical Plan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is January 1, 2011.
To help transition to this expanded eligibility, the Board of Pensions approved an early accommodation for those children who lost coverage by “aging out” of the Medical Plan or by graduating between June 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010. To be eligible for this early accommodation that went into effect June 1, 2010, adult children of Medical Plan members:
- must be under the age of 26
- must have been covered by the plan on June 1, 2010, and
- would otherwise no longer be eligible for coverage, by virtue of financial dependency, student status, marital status, or residency, between June 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010.
Please note: Effective January 1, 2011, all adult children of covered Medical Plan members who are under the age of 26, regardless of their financial dependency, student status, marital status, or residency, will be eligible for full coverage through their parents’ coverage under the Medical Plan. This provision includes covered plan members’ children, stepchildren, and adopted children who are not currently covered by the Medical Plan and who are not eligible for coverage under another employer-sponsored health plan. A mailing to all members will be sent in early fall advising them how to enroll their adult children who qualify for the extension.
If you have questions about this healthcare reform provision or the Board’s early extension of coverage, please call the Board at 800-773-7752 (800-PRESPLAN).
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