Office of Church Staff Finances

June 30 deadline for retirement plan

For congregations and other UU organizations already participating in the UU Organizations Retirement Plan, June 30 is the deadline to submit the 2014 Employer Participation Agreement form to the UUA’s Office of Church Staff Finances.

Congregations and other eligible employers that have not been participating in the plan are not required to join by the June 30 deadline.

A new participation agreement is required of each participating employer because, after more than a year of work by the UUA Retirement Plan Committee, last year the UUA Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive revision of the plan, also referred to as “restatement” of the plan. Restatement means the plan was updated to include all of the changes that have been made to federal regulations affecting retirement plans since the last restatement of the UU plan, which occurred in 1999, and to reflect current best practices of defined contribution retirement plans.

The restated plan gives congregations and other participating employers greater flexibility in retirement benefits offered and encourages participants to contribute more toward retirement.

New options include allowing employers to match employee contributions rather than simply making a base employer contribution. Fair compensation guidelines remain the same. Another key change is that employees who are not eligible to receive employer contributions are able to elect to make their own voluntary pre-tax salary reduction contributions. See the Employee Contributions Form here.

In order to continue to be a participating employer with the plan, employers/congregations must pass a motion to adopt the restated plan, submit the 2014 Employer Participation Agreement, and receive confirmation from the UUA Retirement Plan Committee. This process must be completed by June 30. A sample adoption motion can be found here.

Failure to act may mean that organizations may not be able to continue to submit contributions on behalf of their employees to TIAA-CREF. Congregations that are not yet participating in the plan are invited to view detailed information online and direct specific inquiries to retirementplan@uua.org. Employees who are already enrolled participants in the plan do not need to re-enroll.

Participants in the plan as of last November received a packet of materials regarding the restatement as well, and are encouraged to engage their employers in conversation about the benefit and any changes the employer may be considering.

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Deadlines, UUA Announcements

UUA seeks compensation consultants

The UUA is seeking volunteers to serve as Compensation Consultants. Individuals with experience in UU leadership, human resources, accounting, employment law, church administration, tax law, mediation, and the like are invited to volunteer their time and skills working with the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances (OCSF).

Consultants help congregations address issues involving compensation, benefits, hiring, performance evaluation, taxes, and bookkeeping. Experience is helpful but not necessary because the OCSF will provide training. Email Betsy Gabriel, Compensation Programs manager, by July 1 to express interest or request information.

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UUA Announcements

Changes coming to UUA Retirement Plan

Congregations and other UU groups participating in the UUA Retirement Plan are invited to submit comments by June 12 on proposed changes to the plan. After that date the UUA Retirement Plan Committee will revise the plan. When it is approved by the UUA Board of Trustees all participating employers must adopt it by December 31 in order to remain in the plan.

Work on the revisions has been underway for about a year, including attorneys, consultants, and UUA staff.  A mailing to congregations, describing the proposed changes, went out in mid-May. The mailing can also be found on UUA.org.

Changes to the plan include allowing new employees to immediately contribute to the plan rather than waiting a year and changes in the amount employers contribute. All of the changes can be found on the UUA’s website.

To receive periodic updates on the proposed changes and the implementation of the revised plan send an email with your name and role in the congregation to retirement@uua.org.

 

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Deadlines

Sign up for health-care alerts

The UUA Office of Church Staff Finances has begun sending out monthly emails to keep congregational leaders informed about the federal Affordable Care Act,  which will be nearly fully implemented in January 2014.

Emails are being sent to board presidents and/or board chairs who have a my.uua.org account. Others may also receive the emails by sending their name, congregation name, job title, and email address to Patti Angelina, Insurance Plans coordinator.

You do not need to have employees enrolled in the UUA Health Plan to receive these emails. Previous monthly email alerts will be archived on UUA.org. Linda Rose, of the Church Staff Finances office, advises, “It is the responsibility of all employers, including congregations, to learn about the ACA and to fully prepare themselves to make thoughtful decisions regarding employee benefits, including health insurance.”

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UUA Announcements

UUA recommended salaries posted for 2012–2013

The Unitarian Universalist Association’s Office of Church Staff Finances has posted the 2012–2013 UUA Recommended Salaries for congregational staff and newly revised 2012 Geographic Indices. The UUA Salary Recommendations, effective for congregational years beginning July 1, 2012, have been approved by the UUA Compensation, Benefits, and Pension Committee. They were developed through a process that included a comparable wage analysis using wage data obtained from three national sources—the most prominent of which is the Economic Research Institute (ERI).

ERI uses census, federal wage surveys, and other wage data for their database. The UUA Salary Recommendations are heavily influenced by wages paid in the general economy. For more information contact the Office of Church Staff Finances.

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UUA Announcements