Pension Boards UCC: Retirement and Benefits Plans that Work for CHHSM Members

Many faith-based service organizations struggle with how to offer benefits and retirement pensions to their employees in an effective, just way. Sometimes, it’s difficult to find providers that understand church-related organizations’ priorities.

For CHHSM members, the Pension Boards United Church of Christ (PBUCC) offers both understanding and multiple solutions.

“PBUCC has been in existence and has serviced UCC-related ministry organizations for 105 years,” says John Cielazewicz, managing director of member services and operations. “We understand the intersection of faith and finance, and the unique needs of the UCC.”

PBUCC offers a turnkey suite of benefit plan services that removes the burden of dealing with multiple providers. These services include the total outsourcing of retirement plans; medical, dental, vision, and flexible spending; and life and disability insurance plans — all at competitive rates.

The retirement plan services are comprehensive and tailored to the organization, Cielazewicz says. This includes “design of a plan for your organization, state-of-the-art administration, personalized customer service and financial planning for members, and a choice of 10 daily-valued, socially responsible investment options.”

In PBUCC plans, industry-low investment management fees cover the cost of participation, “so there are no administrative fees billed to the employer or the employee member,” he adds.

Several CHHSM members already are taking advantage of PBUCC benefits services, says Cielazewicz, some for more than 30 years. “We make switching and enrolling your employee members very easy,” he says. “We will guide a new employer in establishing plans that are right for their organization, complete simple-to-understand documents, and get them up and running quickly. The retirement plan allows the rollover of qualified funds from an existing plan and from members’ individual accounts in other plans. We will even host on-site employee meetings to assist employers in educating and enrolling their employees.”

Changing or expanding a chosen plan is simple too, Cielazewicz adds. “Employers are free to choose employee eligibility, and the amounts or percentages employees and the employer will contribute to the plan.”

The PBUCC retirement plan is a 403(b)(9) church plan. “We believe our retirement plan offering is unique in that it combines the best features of other retirement plans in the industry into one plan,” Cielazewicz says. “Unlike other retirement plans, the plan allows a member to self-direct their contributions during their working years, and also provides an option for a lifetime monthly income payment for the member and the member’s surviving spouse/beneficiary.”

But it’s the personal, one-on-one service that is perhaps most important, Cielazewicz adds, including getting a caring person on the phone when calling the toll-free service number.

“The UCC and its associated organizations have been our only customers for over 100 years,” he says, “so we understand the unique needs of CHHSM’s members better than any other full-service retirement plan provider.”

Download a summary of PBUCC plan highlights.

Learn more about the Pensions Boards United Church of Christ.