Employee Eligibility and Participation

Employee Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the Plan, you must be scheduled to work 1,000 hours or more per year at a participating employer. If you are scheduled to work less than 1,000 hours per year, you will become eligible on the first day of the month coinciding with or following the date on which you meet this requirement.

Part-time employees working less than 1,000 hours per year are not eligible. There is no minimum age or waiting period to be eligible to participate in the Plan.

Employee Participation

Your participating employer must enroll you in the Plan in order for you to become a member. Your employer can do this by filing an Employee Application for Membership form with CPF or by enrolling you online through My Admin Portal (MAP).

Important Date Affecting Your Benefits

Date of participation: Once your employer has adopted the Plan, your participation begins when your employer enrolls you in the Plan.

You will become a member in the Plan on the later of the first day of the month coinciding with or immediately following the later of the date your employer has adopted the Plan or the date you satisfy the minimum hours requirement described above. If you feel that you have met the participation requirements but have not been notified of your Plan membership, please contact our Client Services group or your employer to confirm your enrollment.

If you change jobs in the Church and move from one participating employer to another, your new participating employer may enroll you in the Plan if you meet the eligibility requirement described above.

Member Status

Eligibility for the benefits described in this Guide is based on your member status under the Plan as follows:


You Will Be

Active If...

Terminated If...

  • You are entitled to a vested benefit; and
  • Your enrollment in the Plan has ended because:
    • You are not employed by a participating employer; or
    • You are employed by a participating employer but are scheduled to work less than 1,000 hours per year; or
    • Assessments are more than 24 months past due (even though you are employed by a participating employer and are scheduled to work 1,000 hours or more per year).

Retired If...

  • You have initiated retirement and started to receive your retirement benefit and have not subsequently returned to active service with a participating employer.
  • If you previously retired under the Plan and then later return to active service, your retirement may be suspended unless you meet certain criteria. See Returning to Work After Retirement for more information.

Eligibility Chart

The chart below shows the benefits you are eligible for based on your member status under the Plan. Please note that this is a high-level overview; other eligibility requirements and conditions apply. You will find summaries of these benefits in this Guide.

Benefit

Active

Terminated

Retired
Disability Payments Yes (before age 65) No No
Preretirement Survivor Benefit Yes, if you die after age 55 (benefit is based on a minimum of 10 years of Credited Service) Yes, if you became a Terminated member after age 55 (benefit is based on actual Credited Service) N/A
(Preretirement) Lump Sum Death Benefit Yes No N/A
Post-Retirement Survivor Benefit N/A N/A Yes, if elected at retirement
Monthly Retirement Benefit N/A N/A Yes
Discretionary Cost-of-Living Adjustments N/A N/A Yes
A Guide to the Lay Defined Benefit Plan (PDF)
Guide to Lay Defined Benefit Plan Disclaimer

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